As Time Goes On
by Quiris
Summary: With the wall destroyed, changes are quickly happening to the city that once was No. 6. Though the sight is breathtaking, Shion cannot properly enjoy the new building society without Nezumi...  My first fanfic. Feedback is loved.
1. Chapter 1

The flood of people streaming towards the boundary of the city was mesmerizing. People clad in suits, dressed for the part of a proper city, collided with men draped in tattered hand-me-downs and shawls. They paused at the brink of the shattered remains of the wall that had separated them for so long. A brief moment of hesitation persisted, leaving the two once separated societies to look upon one another with shy interest. But just as the wall had, the tension broke away and dissipated.

It was an awkward first meeting, as the residents of the Western District tenderly placed their hands on the remaining brittle pieces of the No. 6 city walls. The city had sapped at them for so long, terrorized their very existence with those terrible assaults. Many thought somewhere in their minds that they ought to revolt, to insist upon the shining city the same terror that it had cared to bestow upon them. And yet… the people that met them by the wall showed no hostility, and the shambles of broken glass and crumbling stone within showed that the glimmer of the city was not so bright as once thought. They were met with the same tender curiosity—the same shocked expressions. Similar thoughts ran through the minds of each majority: "They're people. Just people." A solid realization swept through.

Slowly, the crowd began to flood together, mixing as though the flowing waters of two streams as they met the sea. Those of the city wandered out to see the world beyond, as those of the outer districts craned to see the structures within.

Far behind the crowds, stepping lightly across the parched plain as the sun rose high in the sky, bathing the earth in a warm shine, Shion made his way back towards the city in his odd procession of boy, dog, rat, and infant. Though his mind desperately wanted to wander back for Nezumi, he forced himself to shake away such thoughts for the time being. He focused his attention on the visible mass of swarming people, and then to the actual people themselves. Were the cities merging, he wondered? What would become of the two very different societies if they became one? The wall had been demolished; his impossible dream had become a reality. Now it was time to test the will to change.

The baby in his arms giggled delightedly as he met the mass of men, women, and children. They turned mutely to regard the white-haired boy, so strange for so many reasons, from the bloody patches upon his chest to the rat rested on his shoulder, but paid him little mind. They continued to move steadily forward, greeting the people of No. 6, throwing questions and answers around wildly in a hushed murmur. The sight warmed Shion's very soul, but he could not enjoy it for the time being. With Safu lost, and Nezumi on the move… there was only one person left for him to return to.

The quiet chatter turned wild and boisterous as the people gained courage. Several men tried to push forward to create order, to subdue the chaotic conversations boiling amongst the crowd, but they were shoved along, pushed to the very back of anyone's thoughts. Chaotic as the mass was becoming, it was not malignant. If anything, it was hopeful.

Shion clutched the baby closer to his chest and felt Hamlet and Dogkeeper's dog hug closer to his side. He gazed around, searching for any familiar faces in the mass. Once or twice a person popped out to him as familiar, but none of them were Karan; none were his mother. There were loud shouts, people calling out to one another, searching for loved ones in the chaos. He listened intently for his own, waiting for "Shion" to join the list.

And then he heard it. Faint as it was, he heard his name directly ahead. He froze, thinking perhaps that he had imagined it. There it was again. The voice was desperate, hoarse, and feminine: a voice that was so deeply engraved into his memory that he could never forget the owner.

"Mom!" he called back, leaping from his stilled position to push the people before him vigorously out of his way with his shoulder. The dog at his heels seemed to help, butting a particularly large man aside, ramming her nose into the back of his knee. It was difficult slipping around, making headway through the mass, but the steadily-strengthening voice drove Shion forward. He called back to his mother in response to her shouts many times and heard a faint shift in her voice from hysteria to hope. She had heard him.

Finally Shion saw her. Her dark hair was unruly and scattered, and shadowy bags clung under her eyes from what could only have been restless worry. Even as he dashed forward to her, those dark but hopefully bright eyes remained locked on something far away, searching through the crowd. It was not until Shion stepped before her, resisting the urge to wrap his arms tight around his mother for the sake of the baby in his arms, did her eyes that had once matched his own rest on Shion's deep red ones.

"Mom," he said, exasperated. Tears welled in his eyes.

Surprise rather than joy met Karan's eyes as she looked upon Shion. At first he felt hurt for the expression, but then realized as the wind cast silvery locks before his eyes that the Shion she had known was marred by a changed appearance, coiled over by a pink scar that wrapped around his entire body, meeting an end at his cheek.

"It's me, mom," he assured her. "It's Shion."

Shion felt as though they were enclosed in a glass bubble. The sounds of the people around them completely melted away, leaving only his mother to stand before him. He could nearly forget that he was holding a baby, that there was a small rat squeaking on his shoulder, and that the dog's tail was striking his knee at a steady pace. He watched with a quavering relief as Karan first extended a hand to brush at his cheek, running over the raised scar tissue that sat there. She held his gaze intently, studying him as though he were the most interesting subject known to man. Then her curiosity faded as though it were the walls of the city, as though it were the lost tension of the air. Her eyes too fell prey to shining tears. Before Shion knew it, he was being pulled into an awkward hug, as his mother wrapped her arms around his shoulder, avoiding the baby.

Shion and his mother turned to stride back into the city, following a procession of several other people doing the same. The interest in the border was starting to leave, becoming a curious question as to what would happen now. Those that had tried to institute peace earlier now found that their efforts were more easily met by the people as they herded them inward. Shion heard several people of the Western District mutter questions, asking where they were going and why. The cold memories of a facility filled with a towering wall of bodies flooded Shion's mind, even as many men of the city assured those newcomers that something would be done. Change was upon them.

On their way back, Shion heard his mother attempt a start at conversation several times, but her words seemed to become lost along the way. He thought that he heard scar once, and then there was baby—and even still a question as to the bloody stain over his heart. He had a lot of explaining to do, he knew. There were many things that he needed to tell her before anything could be done. And as many stories as he knew he would need to tell her, he wanted to hear hers just as much. How had the city faired in his absence? How much damage had the bees managed to cause before Elyurias had ceased the destruction?

The house that they returned to was the same as Shion remembered it. The sweet-smelling bakery before, with their actual living quarters tucked neatly behind. Nothing had changed, except for perhaps it felt more lonely and quiet.

Shion's mother told him to sit and wait on the couch while she ran to fetch some warm drinks for them. She paused to regard the three guests that he had brought with, possibly wondering what she would do to feed them, before disappearing around the corner.

Now comfortably set, with the knowledge that he was once more with his mother fresh and blazing, Shion finally set full attention on the infant in his lap. The little baby girl's bright brown eyes were cast adoringly up at him, giving still more character to her bubbly little giggles. The baby didn't seem to care that she had lost her mother, been carried around in utter chaos on the back of a dog, and finally led back to Shion. The pure content nature of the child was positively heartwarming.

Karan returned minutes later with a couple of drinks for herself and Shion, and a very old bottle of what looked like hot milk. She finally awkwardly addressed the baby, gesturing for Shion to hand the infant over to her. The baby protested with a little grumpy mumble as she was handed over, but became content once more as she began to nurse from the bottle.

"She belonged to a woman in the Western District," Shion told her before the question could be asked. "The mother was killed in the fighting, so… I picked her up." He slowed down, stopping to think carefully of what he was saying as his mother gave him a searching look.

A pause erected itself between them, chilling the air. It clung motionless, disturbing the two before his mother finally asked: "What happened to you?"

Shion found his hand reaching for the scar on his cheek, running his fingers lightly over the raised scar tissue. "Those bees…" he said. "One of those bees infected me."

Karan flashed him a melancholy smile, filled with a pang of a knowing ache. "This city did… terrible things," she said. "Even if you can't see all of the effects clearly." Shion could feel her looking over his strange new appearance, sweeping his white hair and red irises.

"Things will be better now," Shion told her.

"Now that the wall is gone," his mother agreed after another pause. "Who would have thought… the wall is gone."

Although the idea seemed new to his mother, caught in a state of disbelief, Shion felt a sort of pride in having thought of this solution long before the reality came to be. He remembered telling Nezumi of the very same idea—and how he had flat-out rejected it at the time… Nezumi. The boy could be ignorant and stubborn, but Shion already felt a gaping hole tearing away at him somewhere in his belly, aching for his companionship.

"And what of that 'Rat'?" his mother suddenly asked, as though prying into his deepest thoughts. She was reclined back with the baby held in her arms, still gently sucking at the bottle. Dogkeeper's guard dog wandered towards her and sat close, eyeing the baby with a longing look.

"Nezumi…" Shion paused, considering all that was left to tell his mother. There was their adventure inside the facility, made gory by stacked bodies and his own near demise… and then to contrast such drastic events, the brief kiss that he had left Shion with. As much as he wanted his mother to know what he had gone through—to explain to her how he had finally returned home—he did not want to trouble her with such knowledge.

"I don't know," was all he decided to say. He wasn't lying, after all. He really did not know.


	2. Chapter 2

The days seemed to whip by in a blur that made little sense. They were filled with watching idly as the city was virtually remade. Construction seemed to be a top priority, as many buildings had been damaged during the Holy Day, and new houses were being built from the ground up for any Western District people that chose to say. Many people had died during the event, Shion quickly learned. Those that had passed would leave their empty job positions open to new residents that fit the bill.

And while the city completely changed around him, becoming livelier and freer than the white-haired boy could ever even hope to recall, his own life turned upside down, altering from quiet days of reading in the library, and warm hours out washing Dogkeeper's dogs, to busy days taking care of the baby. He had plenty of help from his mother, who constantly offered words of wisdom, smiling all the while as she recalled when he was that small.

At first Shion had been at a lost for what to name the infant. He tried to think of what matched the little girl, but nothing seemed to work. She was only a baby, after all. Her personality was much harder to grasp than that of an adult. But as Shion continued to recount what he could to his mother, the shadowed look in her eyes at hearing Safu's death were a direct answer to his plight.

"We'll call her Safu," he said without consulting his mother, bouncing the baby in his lap. He felt a pang for his friend's lost life as he thought of her. He remembered her voice waking him from that deep dark sleep he had fallen into, calling him back into awareness. Perhaps naming this baby after her would bring back but a bit of her loss. It was a wonderful token of remembrance he felt, if anything.

His mother paused as he announced the baby's name. Surprise coursed through her eyes for the briefest of moments before something akin to pride replaced the emotion. She leaned over and threw her arm around Shion's shoulder, gripping him tight as she stared down at the small child rested in his lap. "That's a wonderful name," she said.

Shion enjoyed raising the baby, he really did, but he couldn't help but wonder why Dogkeeper had denied the child, sending her back. Past that fact, the dog that had carried the baby refused to leave him now. At first Shion wondered if the dog just liked him that much, or if Dogkeeper had maybe ordered the dog to stay with them, but the dog didn't seem burdened in any way by remaining there, and she seemed much more keen on being near the baby than Shion. Shion was a little lost on names for the creature, as he wasn't really set on the idea that the dog was theirs, so he simply called the beast Dog.

They had purchased a nice little crib for the baby and every night Dog would rest by the legs of the bed, curled up tight on a warm little blanket Shion had placed there for her.

"Want to go for a walk?" Shion asked Dog one day during the baby's nap, hoping to pull her away from her patient waiting.

The dog seemed torn between staying with the baby at first, but couldn't resist the gesture. She wagged her tail and bounced up to Shion's side, barking happily. Shion didn't even need to bother with a leash as they left his house and started down the street towards the markets. The dog was well trained enough to know to stick with him.

Shion never seemed to get tired of walking down the streets these days. There were so many new and interesting faces bouncing about, moving through the crowds. An air of breathless, newfound wonder clung around them still. There were still the obvious differences, but the two civilizations, the people of what once was No. 6 and the Western District, were slowly merging into a solid body. It was true that there was some violence as those new members of the city applied to and took jobs, as those people offered work for lodgings before they could make sufficient pay to support themselves, but that would go away with time. Shion only waited for the day that he could stop mentally thinking of the people as two separate beginnings, and resolve them as a single ending.

Shion turned around the corner with Dog and heard the instant cacophony of men hammering away at the new structure of a large apartment building that was slowly rising up into the sky. Most of the workers, he noticed with a smile, were actually Western District people.

Interested by the sight, Shion wound his way around a cluster of cars and moved along the cones and caution signs towards the structure. He looked up, craning his neck to watch as several men set in the flooring of yet another story. How many stories was the building? More than five? He wondered just how high it would manage to go. They definitely needed more houses now that the city's population had gained many more people. This apartment building would surely help with that number once it was complete.

"Oi, move away from there, kid!" a man suddenly shouted at Shion.

Shion snapped his attention back to ground level, spotting a man in some sort of inspector's uniform moving towards him. "I'm sorry, I just wanted to see," he told the man, taking several steps back to the other side of the street.

The man wrinkled up his face in frustration, nearly growling at him. "It's fine to watch, but please keep some distance. And would you control your dog?"

Shion opened his mouth to argue that Dog was well trained and standing close to him, but looked down to find the dog missing from her usual spot by his heels. Glancing around, he found the dog with her nose stuck near the base of a makeshift wooden wall that was blocking off the main focus of the construction, lying beside a large scaffold with many bricks and boards tumbled around it.

"Dog!" he called to the mutt, racing forward to yank her back by the scruff. "I'm sorry, sir, she's normally not like this." The dog didn't seem to want to obey him this time. She whined and tugged her head forward, persistently snuffling at the wall's base.

The man started shouting something about kids interrupting his work, but Shion hardly heard him as he gave up tugging on Dog's neck and crouched down to her level. The minute he let go, Dog started to scrabble at the dirt and grass beneath the board, whining and barking in excitement.

"What is it now?" Shion asked with a sigh.

There must be something that smelled good to her under there if she was being this persistent. Maybe a worker had dropped some lunch on the other side or something. He watched as she quickly dug a small hole and forced her nose in, upturning a small brick that had become partially buried in the loose soil. Shion was about to start tugging at her scruff again, as the worker man was beginning to bellow angrily at him for not stopping his dog and looked ready to call animal control, but the white-haired boy was happy to find that the dog gave a last bark and pulled back with what looked like a little scrap of a cloth in her mouth.

"You wanted this?" Shion asked her. He held out his hand with a sigh, wondering what the beast was up to.

Dog dropped the scrap into his hand and bounced around, happily wagging her tail. She seemed very pleased with herself. At first Shion wondered if the dog was just being silly, but realization struck him as the item wriggled in his hands.

"I'm sorry for bothering you," Shion said quickly, closing his hands around the dog's find. "We'll be going now—come on, Dog!"

Before the man could scold them further, Shion bolted in the opposite direction, running with Dog at his heels. Though he had planned a long walk with Dog, he quickly turned to run home, not stopping to even catch his breath for a second.

Karan had left while he was gone, leaving a note saying that she would be back soon and Hamlet was keeping an eye on the baby for her. With her gone and the baby still quietly sleeping, the house was completely quiet as Shion quickly raced through the front door, hastily closing it after dog. His mind was running in a blur—his thoughts were completely jumbled. He first turned around on the spot, thinking to run into the baby's room to grab Hamlet, but decided that that could wait and flopped down onto the couch.

Very gently, Shion set down Dog's find onto the coffee table. The thing was dusty and slightly damp from Dog's slobber, but the little brown form of Cravat hopped up excitedly with large black eyes to stare fondly at Shion.

The mouse's fur was sticking up in all directions, and his tail looked slightly smushed. Shion wondered at first what could have happened to the poor thing, but remembered that Dog had shoved a brick out of the way in her digging. Maybe it had fallen on him.

"What were you doing?" Shion asked the mouse quietly, stroking his back to fix the form of his fur. "Shouldn't you be back with…" Shion stopped himself, feeling a pang rush through him. He had been doing his best to avoid saying Nezumi's name. It was so strange speaking of Nezumi with him gone—gone who knows where.

Cravat scratched at his ears and gave a few sharp, urgent squeaks. He shoved Shion's hand away with a little poke of his nose and spun around in a sharp circle, turning his head this way and that. The mouse gave another sharp squeak and scuffled at the table with his little paws, still looking around in a quick manner.

"You lose something?" Shion asked, tipping his head as he observed the little mouse's strange behavior.

Before the mouse could do anything more, there was another little squeak as Hamlet raced across the living room floor, scrambled up the leg of the table, and ran to meet his friend. They touched noses briefly, greeting each other with friendly little sounds before Cravat returned to his sharp, persistent squeaks. Hamlet sat back, listening to him intently before turning with Cravat in sync to squeak at him, waving their paws.

"What…?" Shion asked them meekly. He really wished that he could understand them. Or that Cravat at least had some sort of message with him if something was so important… "Wait… do you have a message for me?"

Shion felt his heart begin to pound at a terribly fast rate as Cravat nodded, bouncing up and down. A message from Nezumi? For him? But… where was the capsule that Nezumi always sent those messages in?

"You didn't… lose it?" Shion asked him. His spirits felt crushed as he thought of the mouse losing a note from Nezumi. He couldn't blame the creature, but it was a terribly disappointing thought.

But Cravat didn't shake his head. He bobbed his little body up and down, still squeaking. Hamlet joined in, standing tall beside Cravat, tapping his paws on the brown mouse's head.

Suddenly Shion recalled the map scans that he had seen played out through the eyes of the mice before. Nezumi had set them aside, allowing a bright projection to show on the flat surface of the wall.

Gingerly, Shion picked Cravat up and turned him around to face the wall. In the split second that it took to tap down gently on the mouse with his fingers, Shion thought intensely of what it could show. Please let it be something from Nezumi, he thought. Please. Anything. A picture even. He had no pictures, after all.

There was a little clicking sound and Cravat held his head up as his eyes beamed a vibrant blue light. The light struck the wall, giving off a brilliant flash before a picture formed itself upon the stone surface.

What came up across the wall was a vibrant picture of a thick, lush forest with decrepit stone walls resting in amongst the moss. It appeared to be raining, dripping down from the leaves all around. Sitting in the center of the picture was Nezumi, giving a wide smile. It took Shion a minute to see it but, scratched into a stone section before Nezumi were the words: "MISS YOU."


	3. Chapter 3

Shion's mind felt numb. It was as though he had suddenly plunged headfirst into an icy pool of water. The shock coursed through his body completely, giving off little shivers until his mouth dropped open in awe.

"He misses me…" Shion murmured under his breath. "Nezumi…"

Shion floundered for a moment with his legs, stepping forward shakily to stand before the table. He tried to get closer to Nezumi's image imprinted upon the wall, but found that his own shadow stole away the picture, blocking out Nezumi's face. Edging along the wall slowly, Shion stood as close to the picture's subject as he could without blocking it. He didn't know what to make of it. He had hoped for a picture but… hadn't expected it.

Shion dropped down to his knees and sat staring up at the picture. He read over the simple message several times, allowing it to fully sink in. As touching as those simple two words felt to Shion, he couldn't help but feel somewhat angry at the dark-haired boy within the forest. If he really did miss Shion… why had he left in the first place?  
>A month had passed since the Holy Day, but it felt to Shion like many more had flown by. He loved his mother, he loved the newly-changing city, he even loved taking care of little baby Safu, but he couldn't help but miss those days with Nezumi. They had promised to meet again someday… yet when was someday? Did someday mean days from now? Months? Years? He was sure that he'd feel more secure with a solid number to go on. Just one number to mark upon the calendar, and joyfully tick away at until the awaited date came to pass.<p>

There was a click and Nezumi's picture faded with a little blip as Cravat lowered his head. Shion felt an ache run through his chest and clenched his teeth, bowing his head. He felt his throat tighten with the threat of tears and rubbed his eyes against his sleeves, wiping away the liquid that was blossoming there.

A little squeak sounded from behind him, urging Shion to look back at Cravat. The little mouse was sitting on the tabletop, waving his little paws in the air. His pupils were dilating and subtracting in size like… like a camera's lense.

"Wait," Shion said before the mouse could snap a picture of him. He wiped his arm across his face and stood up quickly, bolting for the kitchen. He dug through the junk cupboard in the corner, pulling out a pen and a tattered bit of paper before darting back into the living room.

He flopped down by the table before the two mice and wrote a message across the paper in the best hand writing that he could manage. "Okay," he told Cravat once he was finished. "You can take the picture now."

Shion scooted back a short distance from the mouse and smiled as Hamlet tapped down on Cravat's head. There was another bright, yet very brief flash of blue and a small click. The light was only gone for a moment before Cravat turned his head upwards and allowed his eyes to beam yet another brilliant blue flash against the wall.

Shion turned around to see a boy with white hair and red eyes holding up a tattered little message close to his chest. Though he was smiling, his eyes were terribly bright at the iris and red-rimmed, signaling that he had been very close to, and possibly shed tears. His eyebrows were furrowed together in a pleading manner, giving him a very puppy-like look.

"That'll do," Shion said with a sigh. He would have liked to look a little less… pitiful in the image, but the message in his hands was easily readable, which was the entire purpose of the picture. Besides, Shion sort of felt that the puppy-like tone to the photograph was a nice touch. Some lewd feeling in Shion's mind wanted Nezumi to see him in that state.

Cravat nodded his head and turned to nuzzle Hamlet's cheek. He only waited for a last little pat on the head from Shion before he scurried over to the door to leave.

"Take it to him as quick as possible—and be safe!" Shion called to the mouse before he slipped under the door and out of sight.

Although he had done virtually nothing worth being tired over, Shion fell onto the couch in an exhausted manner after Cravat left. Emotionally exhausted. He had spent so many days pushing Nezumi to the back of his mind that bringing the boy back to his full thoughts was very painful. He really hadn't noticed how much he missed Nezumi until his image had appeared upon the wall, cast by Cravat's eyes. He wished that Cravat could have stayed for a little while longer. He felt as though he could look upon those grey eyes forever, even though they were but ghosts of the actual person that he adored and wished to see.

Shion could have fallen asleep where he lay on the couch, absorbed in thought, but he was torn back into the real world as Safu's urgent crying mingled with Hamlet's sharp squeaks, ordering him to take care of the baby. For the first time since bringing baby Safu home, Shion felt very reluctant to answer the baby's cries.

"What's wrong with you?" Karan asked Shion shortly after returning from shopping. She had only exchanged maybe two sentences with her son, but that woman was already spot on the fact that something was not quite right. She glanced over her shoulder from stacking away groceries, raising an eyebrow at her son.

Shion was very happy that he was turned away, placing items in the fridge when his mother addressed him. He was sure that his expression might betray his feelings. "It's nothing," he said. He felt his cheeks blush as he told the blatant lie.

Karan sighed and turned completely around to look at her boy. "If nothing's wrong, then why are you going around sighing like a depressed little thing?" she asked, shaking her head with concern.

Shion put aside the last item and closed the refrigerator door. Taking a deep breath, he turned to look his mother in the eye. "I got a message from Nezumi today," he said awkwardly.

A small smile curled on Karan's lips. "He's a good friend," she said with a mute little sigh. "What did the message say?"

Shion felt himself blush very hard as he said, "That he misses me," in a flat, trembling voice.

Karan quirked her head to the side curiously, but her smile grew only wider. "How sweet," she said. "I hope that you made sure to write back to him?"

Shion nodded his head, feeling his cheeks positively burn.

Karan opened her mouth to say something more, but was interrupted when the sound of Safu's crying came from the bedroom. "I'll go check on her," Shion offered before his mother could say anything. He darted off in the direction of the baby's room, brushing Dog's head with his fingers as he met the dog halfway through her own mad dash to reach the baby.

Shion scooped the baby up and rocked her close against his chest, humming sweet little words to her. "Are you hungry?" he asked the baby in a whisper between his hums. "I don't think you need to be changed…"

But the baby continued to cry, even as Shion rocked her gently in his arms. With a sigh, Shion carried Safu into the kitchen to fetch her a bottle. His mother waved him away from the counters, however, telling him to go sit and wait on the couch while she heated some milk. The white-haired boy did as his mother said, still rocking and bouncing the baby, trying to persuade little Safu out of her tears.

"What's wrong?" Shion asked the infant in a pleading tone. "The milk will be ready soon," he assured her, even though he knew that the baby had just about as much of a chance of understanding him as he did of understanding her.

Karan came from the kitchen a few minutes later, rescuing Shion from the baby's incessant cries. "Here, is this what you wanted?" his mother said in a voice as smooth as honey.

The baby's tears stopped instantly as she began to suckle on the bottle. Safu still seemed very squirmy and grumpy, but each little sip seemed to calm her. When it seemed that the baby was completely soothed, Karan pulled away the bottle and set it aside. It only took a minute for the baby to be crying once more, tossing around in her arms.

"Oh, dear… Maybe she's sick?" Karan said with worry, stroking the baby's short brown hair.

"I don't know…" Shion said slowly. He found his eyes traveling past the table, towards the wall where Nezumi's picture had been displayed not long ago. He found it hard to concentrate on anything other than the grey-eyed boy at this time. He kept mentally wandering about a deep, rainy forest that he didn't know the name or location to.

Karan was checking the baby's forehead for any traces of a fever when Dog bounded over and stuck her nose up on her lap, snuffling at the baby's ear. The baby's crying ceased abruptly to be replaced by giggles. Her squirmy nature turned pleasant and joyful as she grappled for the dog's wet nose.

"Would you look at that," Karan said with a laugh. "The dog knows how to take care of the baby better than we do." She turned little Safu around to face Dog, gently pushing the baby into a sitting position so she could pat the dog's nose. Hamlet scurried over at the sound of the baby's happy giggling. He bounced onto Dog's head, bobbing up and down to further entertain the squealing child.

Shion laughed too, shaking his head. "Watch her grow up to be a second Dogkeeper," he said with a smile.

His mother cocked an eyebrow at him, shaking her head with confusion. "Dogkeeper?" she asked, still laughing.

"Oh, um, another friend from the Western District," he said, scratching at his neck awkwardly.

"Such strange names…" Shion heard his mother mutter under her breath. "From the Western District? Is she in the city now?"

Shion felt surprise course through him a moment before guilt. He hadn't thought much of where Dogkeeper had gone… He had thought of her in regards to the baby's return to him, and by looking over Dog every day, but he hadn't really thought much into where the strange woman had gone. Surely going back to her hotel when all of the residents were making such drastic changes wouldn't serve very usual to her, would it? So maybe she really was in the city…

"I don't know," Shion said to his mother, echoing his response when asked Nezumi's location.

Karan sighed and leaned towards Shion, wrapping an arm around him. "Shion, you really need to keep close to your friends," she said softly. "You don't want to wake up one day and realize that they're gone."

Shion blew out his lips in frustration, resting his head on his mother's shoulder. He closed his eyes tight and clenched his teeth, forcing away any further tears. "I won't let that happen," he said. "I can't."

They remained silent, listening solely to the baby's squeals of delight and Dog's playful snuffling and whimpering. At one point they all seemed to drift into a light sleep. Safu became quiet in Karan's lap, Dog and Hamlet curled up by the foot of the couch, and Shion's mother slumped to the side, curled up against the arm of the sofa. Shion wanted to fall into the same sleep with them, but instead tossed and turned, unable to keep his mind from wandering into darker territories. A long time ago he would have loved such a quiet, peaceful setting as this. He would have drank in the calming air as though it were a life-giving liquid. But… there was something different now.

Shion turned over onto his other side, glancing towards the front door. It was growing dark outside now, but there was a sufficient amount of light pouring in through the window set in the door, cast by a streetlamp situated just outside. Although he knew that it was near impossible for Cravat to move fast enough, Shion found his eyes drifting to the base of the door, searching for the little brown mouse's body returning with a new message from Nezumi. It couldn't come soon enough.


	4. Chapter 4

Shion stood at the back of the crowd with Dog at his heels. Though his mother had asked him not to, the white-haired boy had insisted on joining the large meeting assembled within the city to hopefully hear some explanations for the chaos that was slowly cropping up all around the city. He listened intently as a man took to the stage far ahead, stepping towards a microphone at the front. He spoke in an authoritative, deep voice, instructing the residents of No. 6 on the newest rules and information.

In the last few days, the rising tension in the city had completely driven away Shion's anxiety at waiting for Nezumi's response. A rising tension that had come to a boiling point before completely piling over, taking the wondrous awe of change in the city down to a terrible fall. Shion was a little hazy on the details, but it would seem that some Western District people had refused to work and were thrown out by their hosts. Riots had ensued afterwards, as the family that had been thrown out argued that their lack of work was due to illness, not laziness. The riots were still happening, slowly sweeping across the entirety of the city. There was crude talk from all over, saying that a terrible mistake had been made in allowing the two civilizations to merge.

"We must cooperate in these dark times if we wish to live as a single, united city!" the man shouted into the microphone, drowning out the chatter that had risen during a lull in his speech. "We are all strangers to one another. Hate will only drive us further apart."

"This city was fine before they came!" an older No. 6 resident shouted from the back of the crowd.

"Why do we have to accept them here in the first place?" another shouted from the front.

The man at the microphone scanned the shouting crowd, waving his arms for silence. "Though we cannot deny that this road is difficult, we cannot simply throw these people out!" Shion found it a bit strange how the man seemed to be ignoring the Western District people in his speech, speaking as though only those of the previous No. 6 stood before him. Though the crowd was filled by a majority of No. 6 residents, there were still Western District people visible amongst the mass. "How could we simply throw them away, after hearing of the terrors that our city has caused them in the past? Would you repeat such crimes to simply make our lives easier?"

The crowd quieted some, falling into thoughtful murmurs. As the roar lulled, the man stepped back to be replaced by another representative of the city. As the new speaker launched into an inspirational speech detailing how business would be conducted in a more favorable fashion, Shion slipped away, patting his side to have Dog follow.

"This place is going to the dogs," Shion muttered under his breath, weaving around the back of the crowd, back out of the area. "No offense," he added to Dog.

Dog gave a bark and wagged her tail, staring up affectionately at Shion.

Shion didn't want to return home just yet, so when he came to his own street, he took an opposite turn, heading in the direction of the broken wall.

As he walked, Shion eyed every section of the city, breaking it down in his mind. He saw sections where there seemed to be peace, Western District and No. 6 people working alongside one another to meet a common goal, but in other areas there was shouting and anger. Everything was so unstable now… then, maybe it had never been stable in the first place. Perhaps it was just Shion that had been caught up in a state of awe over the scene, not the entirety of the community.

When Shion reached the shattered remains of the city's walls, he moved slowly, stepping amongst the scarred rock with his hand held out to brush along the rough edges. He turned his eyes back to stare down the street, to spot a man being chased away, and then cast them forward to meet the barren land before him.

The Western District had been practically destroyed, leaving yet more rubble to collect across the land. A dark, dirty look reigned over the wasteland, even though the sun was up and shining. A chilly breeze drifted through the scene, scattering loose pebbles and dust.

Shion sat down upon the nearest stone section, losing himself in thought to the landscape. He subconsciously stroked Dog's head with one hand, while he cupped his chin with the other.

More and more, Shion found his sight stretching farther past the rubble of the Western District, past the still-standing, glowering shells of buildings, to meet the horizon. It sat so far away, casting a pale pink glare of a haze. The clouds sidled along through the light, drifting lazily above the pale shadows of far off mountains. It was difficult to see, but there Shion could see the faintest gleam of brilliant green.

All his life, Shion had lived within the walls of No. 6. That manicured city, preened and clipped into the highest of standards. There were forests, fields, and even rolling hills within the city, but they were all tended by the hands of men. He had been bored with that life… and then Nezumi had arrived, turning his life on its head.

Living out in the Western District had been perhaps the happiest time in Shion's life. It had been a new adventure, a rising storm in a dull, dry world. And now he was back in a dry desert, wandering in a drunken stupor, eternally searching for water. The city had definitely become interesting, torn by newfound hardships and riots, but it was still the same old city deep down. Now that Shion knew the city was on a route for change, the wall gone, the people integrating as one, he no longer felt the draw to remain there.

"Damn it, Nezumi," Shion growled under his breath. "Why couldn't you have stayed just to see this? I would have gone with you had I known that…" Had he known that he'd grow so bored… so lonely.

Dog barked by his side, dragging Shion from his thoughts. The dog was staring out over the scattered buildings, twitching her nose with interest. Shion followed her gaze to see several specks weaving around the skeletal remains of buildings. "People?" Shion said aloud, shielding his eyes with his hand to see through the glare of the sun.

Shion had no idea what he was doing. One minute he was sitting on the stone of the wall, regarding the tattered city below with interest, and the next he was clambering over stones, racing past sparse weeds and open stretches of barren dirt towards the decrepit Western District, forgetting the glorious city of No. 6 behind him. Dog followed along at his heels, all for the blunt idea. She barked loudly in the rush, happily scampering before Shion to take the lead. He'd be back before long, he assured himself on the way. Back before dinner.

By the time Shion reached the buildings, he was terribly out of breath. His heart was racing. He had to stop for several minutes just to breathe, to look around and take in the sight.

The Western District was terribly mangled from the purge the tanks had taken upon it, but more buildings than Shion had thought seemed to have survived. He started to walk down a long stretch of a road, looking up into the ghoulish windows of the ones that remained. It seemed at first that only the wind owned these hollow remains, but soon the sound of footsteps mingled with that of the howling wind.

Shion spun around at the sound to find two men standing behind him, half hidden in the looming shadow of a partially-wrecked shop. One man was tall and lanky, while the other was short and rotund, covered in a very thick beard that seemed to swallow his neck. They both looked rugged and dirty, covered in thick layers of grime.

Shion first thought to call out to them, but a chill ran down the nape of his neck before the words could so much as form at his lips. Both men had already seen him, and were staring at him with cruel, dark eyes. The lanky one leaned over to the shorter, mumbling something with a wicked smile. A moment after they advanced.

Shion turned on the spot, bolting down the road with Dog behind him, reluctantly fleeing with a growl. The steady sound of heavy footsteps behind him drove him forward, giving him a solid burst of energy as adrenaline coursed through his veins. He dared once to look behind, but nearly lost his footing on a loose board underneath. Flailing his arms to keep balance, he turned around the next corner, bursting into a full out run, pounding his fists forward in sync with the steady drum of his legs.

But no matter how much drive he put into his run, the footsteps behind him seemed only to grow louder. He could hear the men shouting to one another, but could make out no words through the roar of blood in his ears. He had no idea where he was even going. The distorted, wrecked city seemed vague and strange now to him. He took another blind turn, hoping to find an outing of the maze, or perhaps a kind stranger to assist him now. Yet all that Shion found was a solid brick wall blocking his path.

Shion patted the tall wall quickly with shaking fingers, hoping that by some magic it might give away. He searched for a place to climb, but it was far too steep. Realizing that he was completely trapped, Shion turned around to meet the eyes of the two men as they caught up, blocking off the narrow alley he had slipped in through.

Dog stepped in front of Shion, growling and barking at the men defiantly as the shorter of the two pulled out a pistol. Shion stared in daft horror as Dog barred her fangs, refusing to step away as the man cocked his gun. The white-haired boy wanted to shout himself hoarse, but found himself unable to speak for a fear that clung at his chest like iron claws. Just then the man grinned, ready to pull his trigger as Dog bunched her muscles to jump. Shion motioned to shove Dog aside, but found his actions moved sluggishly compared to those around him, as though he were caught in a frozen space.

It all happened so quickly, Shion wasn't really sure of what he had seen. Dog had leapt towards the man as a bullet shot from his gun—and so had another dog. Two dogs. Three dogs. All Shion did was shout daftly for Dog to move, only to find within the blink of an eye that both men that had been chasing him lay dead. Several large dogs, still snarling with their fangs sunk into human flesh stood scattered around them. Dog's own maw was rested deep into the shoulder of the taller man, refusing to let go.

Although the sight would be terrifying to any random passerby—a wild dog pack tearing our human throats—Shion found relief in their presence. He moved timidly forward to them, ignoring their bloodied lips and still-existent growls to reach out his hand. "T-thank you…" he said in a breathless whisper as their growls began to subside, and a large shepherd stepped forward to greet him, lapping playfully at his fingers. The dog's tongue stained his hand with human blood, reminding him of the power that the creatures could hold. He was glad that they were on his side, or else he and Dog… Without these dogs, they would be the ones lying bloody in the dirt, rather than being greeted by friendly licks and whimpers.

"Shion!"

Shion turned to find a face he had been waiting to see for quite some time. With her regular assortment of loose, tattered clothes, and long dark hair falling over her face, hiding her eyes in shadow, Dogkeeper stood at the head of the alleyway.


	5. Chapter 5

"Dogkeeper!" Shion called in hushed exasperation as he stumbled towards the woman. He found himself overcome with joy at seeing her, as well as severe gratitude for being rescued.

But Dogkeeper didn't seem so pleased to see him. Her nose wrinkled up into a snarl, and a very real growl escaped her lips as she narrowed her eyes at him. "You idiot!" she exclaimed, angrily lashing the air with her arm. "What are you doing out here alone? Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

Shion stopped short of meeting his friend, bowing his head quietly. "I was just curious to see…" he trailed off, unable to come up with a valid excuse. He was being an idiot. He had come here without thinking.

Dogkeeper's growl disappeared into a strained sigh. Shion glanced back up to find Dogkeeper scratching her head irritably. "Curiosity kills the cat, idiot," she said.

Shion bowed his head again. "I'm sorry for causing you trouble," he said, unable to stop a smile from curling on his lips. Something about the _Dog_keeper making a cat related phrase seemed very comical to him.

Dogkeeper snorted and waved her hand, dismissing Shion's words. "It's nothing, it's nothing," she said. "I'd rather take two seconds to kill a couple of lowlifes than see you wind up dead."

If that was Dogkeeper's way of saying she was glad to see him, then Shion would take that any day.

Without another word, Dogkeeper gave a whistle to call her dogs and turned back down the alleyway, shrugging up her cloak against the wind. Shion followed behind her quietly, falling into step beside Dog and a large Labrador mutt. Though the woman seemed resiliently grouchy towards him, he knew that she wouldn't mind his presence. He remembered the days he had spent back at the hotel, scrubbing her dogs clean by the fountain. He envied the Shion in those memories. He envied the fact that he was able to return every day to the same home Nezumi later would.

"Enjoying that city of yours?" Dogkeeper suddenly asked as they slipped through a section of the run down city where several strong men were working to repair a damaged shop.

"It's nice to see my mother again," Shion replied. He avoided speaking of city. He avoided telling her that it was becoming so chaotic. It was strange, but even this run down portion of the Western District, with several men working quietly and slowly at the tattered edges, it still seemed more peaceful then the bustling No. 6.

Dogkeeper seemed to catch the resistance in Shion's response. "You don't sound so happy," she said. "Is it not what you expected?" She turned to flash him a sharp smile.

Shion wanted to instantly respond to her question with a no, but found himself running over her words with much more thought than the blatant response could carry. Now that he thought of it, it really was not. He had wanted to see his mother, that much was true, but he hadn't expected to lose Nezumi in the process.

"Why aren't you in the city?" Shion decided to ask her, avoiding her question.

Dogkeeper seemed to notice the pause and change of conversation, but did not press it further. Instead, she let out a sort of laughing snarl. "Me? In that city? I have no desire to become a part of that hopeless town. Besides, I doubt they'd allow me in with my dogs." She reached out her hand to stroke the head of a large, bushy mutt. The dog wagged its tail so violently, it struck a shorter shepherd in the face twice.

"Are you still at the hotel?" Shion asked.

Dogkeeper nodded her head. "Yep, still there. I have no intentions of leaving any time soon," she added with emphasis.

Shion grinned at her vehement remarks. "Have the dogs been getting washed?" he asked. He meant the question earnestly, but felt that he said it with too much of a cocky tone.

Dogkeeper laughed. "They are, just not as fast," she said. "Why? Do you miss the job?"

Shion had to look down at a particularly small mutt scampering around his knees to hide his grin from Dogkeeper. "Sort of," he said in a small voice.

Dogkeeper looked over her shoulder to flash what could pass for a sympathetic smile to him. "Well, it's a nice day out today. Want to pick up the work?"

"Sure," Shion said with little pause.

Shion was absolutely mesmerized by the sight of the hotel. It was old and run down, but it was still standing, and still a home. He remembered when Nezumi first took him to the hotel, and how the dogs had swarmed around them ferociously, jaws barred into snarls. Yet now he knew it as a place of comfort, where weary and cold travels laid down alongside friendly and warm dogs, resting together in peace. It was extremely welcoming, thought Shion. Even ignoring the wonderful memories that the place brought back, just the sight was enough to comfort.

"It's gotten even more popular here since that last raid," Dogkeeper said, gesturing to a few strangling men as she moved towards the fountain, carrying buckets and towels. "People that don't want to go into No. 6 have been resting here while repairs are going on. It's brought a lot more work, but I can't complain when there's money involved." She smirked, tossing down the buckets and towels by the rim of the fountain with a laugh.

"Is it just Western District people, or are there any No. 6 residents coming through?" Shion couldn't help but ask. He kneeled down beside the fountain and called over one of the large shepherds, preparing a bucket of water to scrub the canine.

Dogkeeper laughed. "No. 6 people? Come here? Maybe a few of them running about, looking around, but none of those spoiled city people have come to the hotel—why would they?"

Shion shrugged. "Maybe some are curious?" he suggested.

Dogkeeper snorted. "There's a difference between being interested in something, and then actually wanting to be a part of it," she said.

"Interest could still lead them here," Shion insisted.

But Dogkeeper seemed resilient against the idea. "Stop talking and get washing," she said, picking up a bucket herself.

It was harder work than what Shion had become used to back at home, but he happily fell back into the steady labor. He washed dog after dog, until his front was sopping wet, and the hems of his pants clung against his ankles. His fingers had become pruney several mutts ago, but he'd just call the next canines over, dousing them with water before he started to scrub again. During the work, he hardly spoke to Dogkeeper at all. She seemed far too focused on the chore to want to speak much. Shion found the deep crease in her brow as she worked, completely focused, somewhat admirable.

Once the last dog had been washed and the sun was beginning to set, Shion straightened up and patted at his damp shirt with one of the few remaining dry towels. He felt an ache starting to settle in his back and arms from the work, and was slightly proud for the strain on his muscles.

"Good work," Dogkeeper said, giving him a thumb's up. "Don't expect any pay from me, though." She gave him a sneer before stooping down to collect some of the stray buckets, shooing a scraggly little mutt that was jumping around her legs.

"I don't need any money," Shion said with a laugh.

Dogkeeper rolled her eyes. "That's right, I forgot you were a rich No. 6 kid," she said. "Speaking of No. 6, shouldn't you be getting back there?"

Shion was a bit surprised in himself when he felt a strong feeling of disappoint sweep through him. "I suppose I should," he said in a flat tone.

Always sharp, Dogkeeper quickly honed in on the lack of enthusiasm in his voice. "What happened to the optimist?" she asked in a slightly mocking tone.

Shion shook his head, thinking to deny it, but felt a shiver course through him as he met Dogkeeper's steely eyes. "I'm just… I don't know," he said. He felt himself starting to blush with the very thought of the words that he meant to say.

"Just spit it out!" Dogkeeper snarled at him. "I have better things to do than watch you trip over your tongue." She was starting to gather up buckets and towels, and really did look ready to leave.

Feeling his mind run blank as Dogkeeper started to walk away, Shion blurted out, "Do you know where Nezumi is?" He felt his face flush red. He was sure she could see the change in his cheeks, and blushed still harder from embarrassment.

At first Dogkeeper paused, slightly stunned by the random question, but the woman quickly broke into laughter. "You managed to lose that rat?" she asked.

"Do you know where he is?" Shion asked, ignoring her banter.

Dogkeeper frowned. Shion felt his heart sink as she paused to think, looking skyward while she tapped her fingers upon the thick handle of one of her buckets. "Nope," she said after a long pause. "I have no idea, and I really could care less where he's gone."

Shion considered Dogkeeper a great friend, and would never want to cross her, but he felt magma boil up in his belly at her words. "Do you at least have any idea where he's gone?" he pressed. "You're his friend, aren't you?" He took a few steps closer while Dogkeeper continued to walk towards the head of the hotel. He didn't even bother to pick up the remaining towels and buckets that he had used. He wanted a straight answer.

Shion had to fall into step beside Dogkeeper as she refused to stop walking, keeping her head determinedly forward. "Since when is he my friend? That low life that insulted my mother! I have no idea where he is, so you might as well back off." She mumbled a few other dark sentences under her breath, but Shion could hardly catch more than the distinct word _rat_ said several times over.

"You're my friend though, aren't you?" Shion asked after several failed attempts at insisting Nezumi and her were more than two strangers. He stopped short of the door of the hotel, hoping that she would do the same so he wouldn't have to foolishly chase after her.

And as if by some command, Dogkeeper did halt at the door. She heaved a heavy sigh before turning to scan over Shion with a grumpy frown. "I guess," she said. "What's that got to do with anything?"

"If you're my friend, then could you at least answer my question?" he insisted.

It seemed to take all of Dogkeeper's composure to not throw a hard insult back at the white haired boy. "What if I don't know the answer?" she asked.

"Do you at least have any ideas?"

Dogkeeper threw down the buckets she was carrying and flexed her shoulders. She looked back off into space again, apparently mulling things over in her head. "Knowing that slimy rat, he could be hiding in the sewer for all we know," she told Shion in a flat, rambling tone. "You could look all over the place for him, and then just find him hanging out right under your nose."

"But he sent me a message and… he was in some forest… not a sewer," Shion muttered.

Dogkeeper shrugged her shoulders. "You asked for my opinion and I gave it," she said. "Why are you even trying to find him if he left in the first place?"

Her words seemed to strike Shion in the gut, knocking the wind from his belly. The very idea of Nezumi leaving him, not just going somewhere for a short time, but leaving, struck him as an extremely terrifying thought. "He said that he'd come back," he insisted.

Dogkeeper sighed again. She stooped down to pick up the buckets once more, throwing several dirty towels over her shoulder. "If he said he'd come back, then why waste the time looking?" she asked as she put her hand on the door.

That did seem like a reasonable response, but Shion still found it difficult to swallow. Part of him knew that that's what Nezumi had intended for, and that he should remain where the grey-eyed boy had left him, but it was still an undesirable understanding. "Why wait when I could just find him now?" he said.

Dogkeeper laughed as she opened the door. The sound carried along with the sudden squeak of the reluctant wood. "Nezumi might not want to be found," she warned.


	6. Chapter 6

Shion kept his head bowed as he walked home. Though he had expected Dog to remain back with her pack, the canine followed quietly at his side, nudging him gently in the hand with her snout every now and then, as if to just say she knew that he was upset and wanted for him to feel better.

Dogkeeper's words rang in Shion's ears over and over again like the buzzing of cicadas. He could not help but consider what the woman had stated. What if Nezumi really did not want to be found? What if Shion did perhaps try to search for the man, only to find that once he managed to succeed, Nezumi would simply shut him down? He kicked at the dirt below in a mixture of frustration, anger, and a sort of hollow sadness that was gnawing at him—had been gnawing at him for some time.

By the time Shion reached the city it had grown very dark outside. Though hard to see with the glare of the city lights below, the moon and stars now hung overhead, staring down at him as though thousands of watchful eyes. He wandered beneath the lamps on the road, passing in and out of the dark. He found that his mother had left the light outside of their house on for him and followed it blindly, hardly able to pay attention to where he was for all of the confusing thoughts jumbled up inside his head.

Inside, Shion found his mother on the couch, rocking little Safu in her arms. Hamlet sat on the arm of the couch beside her, but scrambled over to meet Shion as he shut the door after Dog.

"What kept you out so long?" his mother asked him quietly, whispering to avoid waking the dozing baby. "And why are you all wet?"

Shion threw off his damp coat on the hanger and stooped down to pick up Hamlet. He put the little mouse on his shoulder and went to sit down on the couch beside his mother. "Went and helped out a friend today," he said dully.

Karan smiled at him, yet the expression slipped into a frown very quickly. "What's the matter?" she asked.

Shion shook his head rather quickly. "Nothing," he said with a grin. "How has the baby been?" he then asked, changing the subject.

Karan sighed, perhaps bothered by her son's abrasiveness towards discussing things with her, but then smiled down at the baby in her arms. "She's been quite sweet tonight. Hasn't made the least bit of fuss."

Shion smiled. "That's good to hear. I'd hate to leave you alone with her if she was much trouble."

The baby gave a little yawn and turned over in Karan's hands, making soft little sleepy noises. "I wouldn't mind even if she was a little trouble," his mother said, looking down at the infant. "It's rather interesting having a baby in the house once more." She gave a little chuckle. "Baby's aren't much of a fuss at all, compared to grown boys that don't tell me things."

Shion blushed and turned his head away quickly to hide the emotion. He focused his attention instead on little Hamlet, stroking the mouse's head gently while the creature squeaked, looking silently at Dog as they appeared to have some sort of conversation simply through sight.

After some rest, Shion's mother hopped up to make a small dinner for them all. Though Shion felt the need to be withdrawn and quiet at the beginning of the meal, Karan had quickly pulled him back into a more talkative state within a matter of minutes. She told him of several very nice people that had stopped by her bakery earlier that day—and then of one not so pleasant, yet very interesting man that she had been certain was terribly drunk. Shion asked her if many Western District people had stopped by, and was pleased when she nodded a yes.

"Several of them, actually," she said. "They seem a bit overwhelmed, but very nice. Just like any people, I'd say."

Shion smiled. He passed on a few crumbs to Hamlet as he bobbed up and down beside his plate, and dropped down a rather large chunk to Dog while his mother looked away. "What do you think of the arguments against them?" he then asked her out of the blue. He felt his smile slip away at his own question.

Karan tipped her head side to side thoughtfully, furrowing her brow in thought. "People are just confused is all—possibly even scared… They'll come around."

His mother's words seemed logical. Only time would heal new wounds, yet… would scars be left over? It was hard to say. Whatever the case, Shion now felt that he would have plenty of time to while away, watching the city change. Dogkeeper's words still hung lively in his head, shooing away any thoughts of looking for Nezumi. No… he'd wait. He'd wait for that change.

After dinner, Shion checked on little baby Safu before turning in. He noticed that the baby's covers had slipped down and gently pulled them back up, tucking the little girl in. He smiled, nearly feeling his heart melt as he watched the baby grab as the blanket with her stubby little digits and give a tiny yawn. He shrank back, hoping that she wouldn't turn towards him and open her eyes, and was delighted when she remained fast asleep.

Within his own room, Shion headed straight for his bed and flopped down fully dressed. He buried his head in his pillow and sighed, feeling the weight of the day pour over him.

Working with Dogkeeper again had been amazing, but all memories that revolved around the brute woman carried thoughts of a certain long haired boy. Lovely memories, yet painful in that the person within them was now absent. He rolled over, closing his eyes as he thought of that boy. He ran over living in a home filled with all of the books he could ever hope to read, waiting for him to come back every day. He had had no trouble waiting then, but perhaps it was because he knew that, at the end of the day, Nezumi was bound to return. Yet now… there was no set time for this occurrence.

Shion suddenly sat up and wandered over to his dresser. He rustled through the clothes, digging until he found what he was looking for. It was a long piece of dark fabric, tattered and worn from use. The cloth was very thick and warm and—though very faint—still held a wonderfully familiar scent. Nezumi's scarf…

The white haired boy flopped down on his bed once more, this time with his face buried into the scarf rather than his pillow. He felt a little daft for doing so—a little creepy too, actually—but the simple scent calmed him. Closing his eyes, he could easily drift back into that library of a home with Nezumi… Oh, how he felt like a girl drifting into such thoughts.

Shion would have fallen asleep there, content to remain where he lay, were it not for a quiet little squeak. Shion rolled over and lifted his eyes from the old scarf. He instantly saw a little flash of white as Hamlet raced across the carpet in a mad dash of scurrying paws—followed by a very similar blur of brown.

Shion sat up straight and alert at the sight. He quickly threw aside the scarf and stooped down to greet the two mice as they wandered close. To the boy's delight, he was happy to find Cravat in a much better state than he had found the mouse in the time before. He was nowhere near as ruffled this time, and had a bright little spark in his eyes that seemed nearly mischievous and playful. A look all mice ought to hold, Shion thought.

"Have you got a message for me?" Shion instantly asked. After asking, he felt a bit rude for just jumping right into business. Yet… what sort of a conversation was he supposed to carry on with a mouse in the first place? Was he supposed to first ask about his travels, the weather, and what he had seen, waiting for a squeak of a response? Highly logical.

Cravat bobbed his head up and down. "Show me!" Shion said, delighted.

With baited breath, Shion watched quietly as Cravat found a clear stretch of wall and directed his gaze towards the empty space. Hamlet wandered up close beside the brown mouse and gently tapped down on his head as he had done the time before. A second after, the familiar blue light shined from the small rodent's eyes, coming to rest against the wall. There was a slight blip of blank light that wavered, before an image shone brightly against the wallpaper.

This time Nezumi was not within the image. Instead, there was a similar view to the one before, the same rainy weather within a forest, yet this time a large tree stood as the focus, rather than a chunk of stone. Carved into the tree, with the same jagged writing of the message before, were the words:

"Be patient. Soon."

Shion felt rage engulf him very quickly as he read the words. It was infuriatingly cocky, he thought, Nezumi telling him to be patient; such a simple, emotionless reply to Shion's own message. He hadn't even bothered to include an image of himself… So careless.

He felt anger boil up in him—felt it consume him until he was very close to tears out of just frustration alone… but then, it suddenly subsided.

The message did say soon. How long soon was, he couldn't say, yet it was a bright little spark at the end of a very long, very dark tunnel, he thought.

The message that Shion sent back this time was nearly as simple as Nezumi's own. He had Cravat simply take a picture of a single sheet of paper rested against Nezumi's scarf. The paper simply read "Soon." Nothing more, nothing less. He could have written paragraphs upon paragraphs describing how much he wanted Nezumi to just fulfill his promise quickly, yet he felt that the single word alone would do enough justice for his plight. It emphasized, if anything, his desire for Nezumi to carry out his own word.

He watched quietly as Cravat darted away beneath his door, thinking himself foolish as his throat tightened with emotion. He felt completely helpless, and nearly as worn down as the scarf still lying back on his bed. Without much thought, he sank down into his bed once more, coming to rest with the scarf just before his nose. He had a brief thought of shoving the fabric away, perhaps even tossing it clear across the room, but found himself instead hugging it very tightly.

And outside he heard the faint pitter patter of rain.


	7. Chapter 7

With very little warning, a couple of months swept past. Every day seemed to drag on achingly, as though every single minute was spent staring at an analog clock that never seemed to change. Yet, throwing all of the days together as one, they blurred into weeks, and then swept full into months with little accord. Looking back, Shion remembered each painfully slow day individually, but felt as if no time at all had occurred total.

Shion had spent many days working in his mother's bakery in those last two months. When he was not spending time with the baby, that was. Little Safu had begun to stumble around the house on wobbly little legs in that time, giving Shion still more trouble when his mother ran the shop, leaving him to care for the infant. In fact, she was even starting to speak. Her first little guttural word had sounded something like "flower"- or probably "flour" rather, since that word was quite common within their bakery—but she hadn't uttered it since, so Shion counted "mouse" as her true first, although she pronounced it much like "moose."

The little child would parade around, shouting "Moose!" whenever she encountered Hamlet scurrying around on the carpet. Hamlet would give an encouraging squeak at the word and crawl close to let the baby pet him, although he'd often have to scamper away seconds after as Safu had no idea what "gentle" petting was quite yet.

Two months ago, reading Cravat's message, Shion had thought that he would spend an eternity wallowing in some depressed state, jumping at every sound as he waited for Cravat to race back to him with word from Nezumi. True, he had spent a handful of days in that jumpy state but, with all of the work to do around home and the shop, Shion had found it relatively easy to set his mind on more productive, chipper thoughts. He'd wake up and hop to work, throwing back those thoughts to save for another day.

Well, maybe not throw them all aside.

Within the last two weeks it had grown very cold as winter settled in over the city. After walking Dog out in the chill several times and returning with a shiver up and down the entire course of his spine, he resolved to actually use the only scarf he possessed—Nezumi's scarf.

At first, Shion had thought that wearing the scarf would be a very bitter and ugly reminder of his current predicament. He had been, truthfully, very afraid of throwing those emotions over his shoulders, but… after finally doing so… he found that it was rather bittersweet. Sad as it was, throwing the fact that Nezumi was not there around his neck every day, it was also wonderful holding the item—the scent. No, he didn't have Nezumi there with him physically, but the grey-eyed boy was definitely there in a sense.

On a cold evening, Shion sat at the counter of the bakery, watching over the shop as his mother ran out to fetch some ingredients from a supplier. Karan had left a couple of hours ago and he wasn't quite sure when she would be returning. A couple of children had stopped by earlier, but past their appearance, no business had since cropped up. Though it was a bit of a pain to simply sit there and wait, Shion found that it was an excellent time to sit back and read. The books he had weren't near as interesting as those that had sat in Nezumi's grand library, but they were enough to pass the time with. Leaned back with the book in one hand, a hot drink in the other, and Nezumi's scarf draped over his shoulder's, he was quite content.

Suddenly, the door swung open and there was a loud "BRRRR!" sound. Shion looked up from the novel in his hand to find his mother walking in, carrying a large sack full of goods.

Shion set his book and drink down and stood up. He looked down subconsciously and started as he noticed that the scarf was still around his neck. He quickly grabbed it and tossed the fabric over the back of his chair, wondering if Karan had noticed. She did know that it was Nezumi's scarf, after all. Seeing him wear it indoors, where it was actually very warm, might make Karan a bit suspicious, he was sure.

"Cold outside?" he asked his mother, stepping forward to take the bag from her hands. It was actually a lot heavier than it looked, he realized, nearly falling over as she dropped it into his palms.

"Careful with that—yes, it is!" She said in a breathless voice. His mother pulled off her hat, scarf, and two layers of coats. His mother had never been one to prefer the cold, the white-haired boy remembered with a grin. "It hasn't stopped snowing since I left!"

Shion had dropped the bag down on the counter and was rooting through it, pulling out sacks of flour and sugar when he stopped at the mention of snow. He quickly spun around and looked out the shop's front window. There, quite obviously, he could already see a solid layer of snow covering the path outside. Flakes were still falling in a steady stream that seemed to bear no notion of stopping any time soon.

"Snow!" He simply said in an overjoyed tone. If there was one thing about winter that made it worth going outside, it was definitely the snow. And hey, he'd blend right in with his hair now!

Shion's mother laughed. "Shion, did you really just notice it was snowing only now?" she asked in disbelief. She seemed mildly worried—but then her eyes found the book on the counter and a knowing look swept her face.

"Hadn't really looked up," Shion said.

Karan laughed again, this time a quiet little chuckle. "Well, now I can watch the shop. You can go out and do what you like in it."

"You'll be fine by yourself?" he scanned over the large sack of new ingredients.

Karan nodded. "Just go have fun—but don't stay out too late!" She turned to smile at her son before turning back to the new supplies. She started to sort through what was there, humming quietly to herself.

Shion wasted no time in throwing on his maroon coat and tossing Nezumi's scarf back over his shoulders. For a moment he raced back towards their living room, thinking to grab Dog, but suddenly turned back around to the door alone. He'd let her out later; right now he just wanted to go enjoy the snow.

Shion smiled as he stepped outside, welcomed by a thousand snowy flakes that drifted past. He delighted in the pleasant crunch of fresh snow underfoot and scraped his boots through the white powder, kicking up a blizzard.

A couple of men passed by, turning towards the shop. They gave him awkward glances, as though they couldn't believe that a young man such as himself was behaving like a child in the snow, but Shion couldn't bring himself to even attempt to act remotely mature. They rarely got snow as it was, let alone enough to cover the entirety of the ground. He was going to make this as memorable of a snowy day as he possibly could.

Down the path away from their house, Shion walked through the market district, meeting very few people along the way. It seemed as though the majority of people had locked themselves up indoors, away from the cold. Maybe it was because it was growing late, he thought. Surely so many people could not ignore the wonderful sight?

Then again, as he grew farther away from the business area of town and more into the residential area, he found more and more children bouncing about, playing in the snow that had gathered within the confines of their yards. He quickly found three snowmen, a stubby little snow rabbit, and then a large cluster of snow angels that had formed into one solid cluster of malformed dents. He had been walking the entire time, quietly taking in the sights, but found himself running away laughing as several children chose to bomb him with snowballs, only letting off when one insisted that they ought to leave him alone, as he seemed to have enough snow in his hair already.

With his coat growing damp from the snow, Shion thought that he should turn around before he began to shiver. Besides, the sun had sunk low over the horizon, leaving him to wander in the pale light of dusk rather aimlessly. Much more of that, and he'd be sure to slip and—

Suddenly the streetlamps burst into life, illuminating the streets with a glowing haze. Everywhere the white flakes drifted, the light caught. It was as though many little fireflies were floating about, teasing him while the wind whipped at his pale hair.

He couldn't go home just yet. It was too much of a magnificent scene to return yet.

Carrying on further into town, Shion soon slipped down a path he could not truly recognize at this time. He followed the lights of the lamps, considering them a trail. Where they led was probably nowhere interesting, let alone special, but it was just something more to do—something to give him a reason to stay out and enjoy the snow further.

After some time, Shion approached the very last streetlamp. The lamp was across a short bridge, right before an open area nestled between trees on either side. A sign nearby marked the spot as a park, though Shion could not read its name for the top of the board was covered in a cloak of snow and ice. He was sure that, in the right light, he'd remember the park within an instant. Yet in the dark, he could not recall the place at all. It was a nameless, dark spot that had yet to be discovered.

Though the lamps did not carry straight into the park, the space within the trees was not necessarily dark. In fact, with the moon lit overhead, the snow had a wonderful blue tint that illuminated the path before him. And, just as the lamps had done, the white-haired boy felt drawn forward by the sight.

As Shion walked, he shoved his hands into his pockets and glanced downwards. He watched his feet break in new snow as he went across the bridge, and then onto where he assumed there was a dirt path beneath. The snow here was completely new and untouched by—

Footprints. He suddenly stumbled upon footsteps, just hardly larger than his own. He looked back up, tracing the trail back towards the right, where they seemed to come directly from the path running alongside the river on this side. And where they went… in the same direction that he was headed.

Shion walked alongside the prints, as if to keep them company. He imagined a person walking beside him and silently wondered who it was that had left them—were they still around? Maybe he'd just run into another kid that would hurl snowballs at him, but he just couldn't resist following them.

The prints went directly along the outer reaches of the park, wandering past broken bits of what must have been a building at some point. They wove and looped around scattered bits of the stone and rubble, always then falling into step in the same straight line.

Shion followed directly beside the prints for the most part, but felt after the third loop that he'd take another course, looping around the other side of the stone. He looked back down at his now lonely set of steps, and then across to the prints on the other side. Silly as it may seem, he felt a bit guilty for abandoning them. He quickly turned towards them, ready to reconnect with his invisibly walking partner.

But very suddenly the footprints ended, stopping beneath the feet of a tall, grey-eyed boy.


	8. Chapter 8

The wind had picked up. Snow was dancing about, carried on whistling breezes that seemed to sing quiet little songs in the distance. Shion was suddenly very aware of how cold it was. There was a lingering chill in his cheeks that seemed to sweep down into his throat, only to then choke inside his chest.

Words absolutely failed the white-haired boy. He was normally rather good at filling in awkward silences with nervous stutters and many questions, yet now his voice was stolen away by the cold, forced to remain hidden and silent under a thick layer of shock. How long had he stood there now? How long had this silence persisted? He could not be certain.

The boy before him seemed just as enthralled in the same surprise, and just as silent for it. Bright grey eyes lurked beneath his dark bangs as they whipped about in the wind. He wore a familiar black coat and very ragged pants that were torn all the way up to his knee, exposing tall boots beneath. He seemed skinny and pale, much different from the fit and lively boy that Shion recalled in his memories. Perhaps it was merely an illusion brought on by the lack of cloth around his neck. After all, Shion still bore the boy's scarf around his own neck now.

"Shion…" Nezumi said. The word held wonder, happiness, and perhaps a taste of trepidation. He did not advance forward, or even dare to break the gap between them. Rather, the dark-haired boy frisked his bangs back to peer at Shion through the dark, snowy air. He squinted, as if unsure of what he was seeing. How anyone could manage to miss Shion's bright white hair, even in such a gloom, was difficult to imagine.

Yet while Nezumi held back, reluctant to make even the slightest movement away from or towards the shorter boy, Shion instead closed the gap.

Something snapped in Shion's mind very quickly, throttling his senses like a caged animal, throwing aside any stray remains of shock that had held him grounded. Without much thought into the action rather than pure instinct, he found himself throwing his arm forwards, nailing Nezumi hard on the cheek with a quivering fist. So forceful and sudden was the assault, Nezumi had no time—or perhaps no desire—to shield against the blow. Rather, the boy was thrown backwards into the snow. He stared up with wide grey eyes at Shion, trying to form a facial expression that seemed caught between surprise and spite.

"What are you doing here?" Shion practically bellowed down at the boy. "You disappear for months, then suddenly decide to come back for a stroll at night?"

"Shion, I—"  
>"Not even a message, or, or—you could have stopped by!" Shion felt his voice quivering beneath his words, depleting the power that they held. His eyes stung as he fought against tears, and his throat positively clamped tight with restrain. "Were you going to just leave again without stopping by?" he asked in a hushed voice, speaking deliberately slow to hide the emotion cracking beneath.<p>

Shion quickly sank to his knees, unable to hold it all back. He fell before Nezumi in a sprawl, staring down intently at the snow between them, unable to meet those stunning grey eyes. He tried to continue his rant, to force all of the words he wanted to say straight into Nezumi's ears here and now. But… his voice would not cooperate. It was all he could do to remain stoic, forcing back his emotions even as fury and pain rose in his belly.

It was then that a very cold hand slid through his snow-damp hair, tracing past his ear and across his chin. The hand was cold, damp, and even shaking from what could only be too much time spent in the chilly weather, yet it held a very gentle touch that made up for its icy temperature. It was as if the gentle grace of butterfly's wings on a spring breeze.

"Shion…" Nezumi said again, this time in a tone more baffled than anything. "You really are an airhead."

Before Shion could even register the insult, he found himself pushed backwards into the snow, his wrists pinned down in the cold by Nezumi's strong hands. "Hey, what are you—" he suddenly trailed off, lost in Nezumi's defiant eyes. The dark-haired boy was staring intently at him with a piercing gaze that could rival knives.

"Why are you so worked up?" the dark-haired boy asked quietly.

Shion felt his cheeks burn with a blush, and the reaction had absolutely nothing to do with the chilly wind. "After you left for so long… I think I have a right to be angry!" he simply said, fighting for proper words to explain himself.

Nezumi frowned. He kept one hand firmly planting Shion's wrist down into the snow, while he raised another to rub at his cheek. "I said I'd come back," he growled. "What, you don't trust me?"

Shion tried to unhook his wrist from Nezumi's grip, but the more he struggled to get away, the stronger Nezumi made his hold. "T-then why were you hiding here?" Shion asked. "If you really wanted to come back, why didn't you just come home—to my home?" he tripped over his words more than a newborn horse trying out its legs. All rage aside, he felt very close to breaking under his emotions now. He was angry, full of fury at Nezumi, yet… he was glad to see the boy. Glad to know that he was safe and that, for whatever reason, he had truly returned… hadn't he?

Nezumi heaved a deep sigh. He motioned forward with his hand; Shion expected perhaps a nice revenge slap for the punch, but was surprised when Nezumi instead grabbed the scarf around his throat, pulling it up to his face. "I didn't go very far to begin with," he said.

All anger seemed to melt away from Shion in that instance, or at least slip away to hide in the shadows. How he could remain furious with Nezumi so close, so quiet… there was no way he could. Though no tears stung his eyes alike the time Shion had been stained in blood, there was something very familiar in look that they held. Something very deep and caring, while at the same time very melancholy.

"Where were you, then?" was all Shion could bring his lips to say.

Nezumi's eyes widened in surprise now, perhaps at Shion's sudden submissive state. After such a strong punch to the face, the boy was bound to be very wary of another blow. Yet, even with that threat still very much alive, he slowly released his hold on Shion's wrists, letting completely go. He backed away, crouched down to stare tentatively at the boy. "Not far, I said," he replied bluntly.

Shion felt all respite fade away again. He was even tempted to punch the boy again now.

But Nezumi seemed to catch the subtle clenching of Shion's hand. The boy appeared to be inching back still further now—or, at least, appeared to be. For Shion was very surprised when the boy sprang forward suddenly, rather than further away. Instead of a punch, instead of being forced down into the snow once more, Shion found himself wrapped tightly in the boy's arms.

"I'm sorry," Nezumi said. He gripped tighter, burrowing his face into Shion's shoulder. The grey-eyed boy's body was still quivering, although now Shion was not so sure that the action was a result of the cold.

Despite the questions that Shion still ached to ask, he could not help but be swept up into the emotion. Returning the gesture, Shion wrapped his arms around the boy. First loosely, he quickly tightened his hold like a vice. Within a few simple seconds, Shion was holding on very tightly to the boy, as if he were the only thing keeping him from sliding off of a very precarious precipice into a gaping cliff mouth below. He forgot the snow and the darkness. He forgot the cold. All that he could think of was the presence of the boy before him, highlighted by his very familiar scent, his very familiar voice. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he repeated quietly in the white-boy's ear in that voice. His steaming breath warmed Shion's frozen ear, and he burrowed tighter into the crook of the grey-eyed man's throat, seeking still more warmth.

"I missed you," Shion whispered back quietly. He was blushing now, his face hidden deep into the collar of Nezumi's coat. He almost hoped that Nezumi had missed those quiet words, but the tight squeeze that that taller man offered him spoke otherwise. Tears stung at Shion's eyes. Happy, relieved, overjoyed tears.

Neither one seemed to want to separate. It was very slowly and reluctantly that they both pulled away, still holding on just barely by loose strands of clothing and searching arms. They stared at one another silently, regarding every feature and detail from blushing cheeks to snow-sodden sleeves. In that time, Shion removed the scarf around his neck with jittery fingers, depositing the cloth around Nezumi's neck where it belonged. The scarf seemed to complete Nezumi. The look reminded him very dearly of those wonderful times back within the Western District.

Then Nezumi suddenly stood up, patting the snow from his pants legs. When Shion did not immediately spring up after, he held down a hand to assist the white-haired boy. Shion grabbed on tight to his cold fingers, allowing the grey-eyed boy to jerk him skyward. His legs felt like gelatin, though, and would not hold him upright. He quickly fell forwards, flailing his arms, only to be caught by a strong hand around his waist.

Nezumi was laughing now, that rich deep laugh that he always did. "You're still as much of a klutz as always, Your Majesty," he said, still laughing.

And all that Shion could do in return was laugh along, still leaning against the boy's arms. What good would being angry and spiteful do now, when the friend he had longed for was finally back by his side. Perhaps even friend was too weak of a term for this now. No, he felt something much deeper than friendship for the grey-eyed boy. Of course, Shion was Nezumi's friend, that would never change. Yet he was very aware of stronger feelings for the boy—and almost certain that they were returned.

Nezumi was pulling Shion along by the hand, trudging through the snow, heading deeper into the park. Shion at first wondered where they were going, but resisted the urge to ask when a swing set loomed into view. It was not a big swing set, nothing fancy, but there were two perfectly intact seats that seemed simply made for them.

They sat down on the seats and began to swing.


	9. Chapter 9

The blistering cold, the dampness in their coats, the doubt in their minds—it all was swept away by the gentle breeze that caught them each swing. Back and forth, both at separate speeds; they had to look in the opposite direction to catch the other's eyes. Nezumi slowed to a stop after several minutes, leaning on the thick chain of his seat while he watched Shion zip higher into the air. The white-haired boy was laughing, jubilation spread from ear to ear. A blush adorned his cheeks, and warm breath rose from his lips.

Shion made a motion as if he were to jump from the seat, but decided better of it and threw his legs out, slowing to a stop. He rocked back and forth minutely, flashing a small smile at the dark-haired boy.

Nezumi stayed put long enough to return a smile before he leapt from his seat, bolting across the snow-covered playground towards a tall metal jungle gym. Before Shion could even untangle his hands from the swing set, the grey-eyed boy was halfway up, climbing quickly.

"Hey, wait up!" Shion chided, darting after him. He threw his hands onto the cold metal and started to climb. Nezumi was already at the top, smiling down coyly. Though the taller boy had made the climb appear easy, Shion found it difficult to manage on the slippery bars, shuffling upwards in his clunky boots. He heard a laugh above and expected to find Nezumi pointing down at him comically, but felt his heart flutter when Nezumi graciously held out a hand to help him.

With Nezumi's help, Shion hauled himself up atop the jungle gym. At the top, he carefully sat down across the bars. Nezumi settled down beside him, staring skyward into the swirling snow. Shion did the same, wincing as cold snowflakes bit at his lashes. Lit by the light of the moon, the falling drops shone like stars. Eyes up on the sky, Shion had the impression that he was racing through space, spiraling out of control into a whole different world apart from his own.

A hand closed over Shion's own. He tore his eyes from the star-like snow, targeting his attention on the boy beside him. Nezumi's eyes were still skyward, however. The wind rippled his hair, his scarf, shadowing his eyes. The grip on Shion's hand tightened and the boy returned it. Neither spoke for a while, breathing in the chilly night air. Somewhere a bird chirped, and the sound of wind whistling through the barren trees hung close.

But the quietness clawed at Shion's ears. This was pleasant, sitting, watching, enjoying one another's presence—but he had so many damn questions that he burned to ask! "Nezumi, what are—" was all that he could make up before he almost toppled over.

A large gust of wind bit at them, tossing snow and ice into the air. All very suddenly, Nezumi's scarf billowed up, dancing in the breeze, before it was caught completely. There was a jerking motion as the fabric tore away from Nezumi's neck, riding in the breeze.

Nezumi swore loudly, leaning against Shion as he attempted to grab at the fabric. It skittered teasingly away from his hands, however. The two watched vainly as it tossed this way and that before snagging on a tree branch clear across the park, past the swings and tires. It waved tauntingly at them from afar.

The grey-eyed boy almost flew down the jungle gym. Shion slipped down after, unable to conceal a laugh as he followed the boy.

From a distance the scarf had seemed within an easy grasp perhaps, but up close, it was much too high up for either to reach. There were no suitable branches for climbing, either. "How are we gonna get it?" Shion muttered, still trying to dispose of several chuckles rising up as he saw the seriousness in Nezumi's eyes.

Nezumi rubbed at his chin, frowning thoughtfully. "I have an idea!" he said suddenly. He turned towards Shion with a wicked grin.

Before Shion knew it, he was up on Nezumi's shoulders, violently teetering in all directions as he attempted to balance. "Hold still!" Nezumi insisted, holding the white-haired boy's knees as he flailed.

"I-I'm trying," Shion insisted, slowly reaching up a hand as he managed to sit upright. He fumbled with his fingers overhead, still rocking uncontrollably. "I can't reach it!" The scarf was but an inch too far away.

"Hang on," Nezumi sighed. With a grunt, he took a careful step forward, angling up on his toes. Shion gasped with surprise, rocking forward as Nezumi swayed. His hand finally met fabric. "Got it!" he said, gripping on tight.

"Alright, now—" Shion supposed Nezumi was about to talk him back down from his precarious perch on the boy's shoulders, but the explanation was quickly made unnecessary. Shion started to fall backwards, bringing the scarf, and Nezumi with him straight into a neighboring snow bank.

Shion hopped back up onto his knees, spitting out snow. He heard Nezumi sputtering beside him, blowing out his lips in a frustrated way. "You get it?" he asked.

Shion broke his hands free from the ice, finding a snow-sodden, but for all the effort intact scarf still clenched in his fist. He turned around to Nezumi with it in hand, waving it in front of the boy's face teasingly. Nezumi was still lying on his side in the snow with a rather irritated expression on his face.

His face was wiped clean by a smirk very quickly. "Idiot," he said with a laugh, taking the scarf back from Shion.

The park became boundless for them. Excited, full of life, they hopped from one area to another. Swept around the swings, over the tires, and towards the teeter totter; Shion flopped down on one end and waited for Nezumi to occupy the other, but was disappointed and frustrated when he heard Nezumi pacing in the opposite direction. He turned to find Nezumi climbing up a larger circular hill, where a slide poured out the side. It was covered in crisp snow, untouched but by the wind. It crunched underfoot, scattering glowing particles into the light. Shion turned full around, watching with a grin as the boy recited a poem, arms spread dramatically wide. Each word mimicked a song of its own, carrying with long, deep notes that sunk into Shion's ears, sending shivers down his spine. Though the white-haired boy listened very intently, he found it difficult to recall the actual words as Nezumi voiced the remaining notes, allowing his voice to trail away with the whisking snow. The melody, the wavering of his voice, it all stuck close to Shion's memory like a dear thing. The words themselves were lost, however, into a song much more meaningful than them; a tune that held much more heart. He was hardly aware of Nezumi sliding down the slide, stepping forward to grab him by the hand and sweep him over to the other end of the park.

The park was now completely scattered with their entwining footprints. The moon was high in the sky, hardly visible through the snow-heavy clouds drifting by. Nezumi suddenly let go of Shion's hand, prancing away with a devious grin on his face. Shion paused, curious, when he quickly noticed Nezumi reaching down into the snow, scooping up a handful. Laughing, Shion quickly turned and ran in the opposite direction as quickly as he could, reaching the tree line. He turned around just in time to see Nezumi pull back his arm, throwing his weight forward as he hurled the ball of snow in Shion's direction. Shion watched it rise, higher and higher into the air, coming his way. He quickly guessed its range, wobbling about with his hands out before him. He thought that he had it, that he could catch it—

And his hands closed tight on brittle bits of the broken ball, as the remainder struck him clear in the chest. He laughed.

"What was that?" Nezumi said, with a chuckle breaking through his tone. He was walking towards Shion with one hand in his pocket, and the other wrapped around a new ball of snow that he juggled in his hand. He shook his head disapprovingly, grinning.

Shion stooped down and scooped together his own snowball. "I just wanted to see if I could catch it," he said, holding his snowball defensively against his chest: his only weapon against the prowling, grey-eyed boy. "I did catch a little bit of it!"

Nezumi paused, quirking an eyebrow. "Catch this, then!" he suddenly burst out. He hurled the new snowball forward.

Shion could only raise his arm over his eyes, snickering as the snowball struck his elbow. "Hey, I'd like to see you do any better!' He retaliated, aiming for Nezumi's grin. All smugness was stripped from him as the ball whizzed past Nezumi's head, falling with a faint _plop _behind him.

"Oh, I think I can do better than that," the grey-eyed boy said with a purr of threat in his voice.

What started with a single snowball quickly transpired into a full blown snowball fight. They made forts out of the playground, ducking behind the teeter totter, hiding around the slide, slipping behind neighboring trees. Though Shion did manage to hit Nezumi a couple of times, the taller boy was a much better shot. He was also much better at hiding. Shion had a nasty habit of sticking out like a sore thumb, leaving well over half of his body in clear striking distance whenever he assumed that he had found a good section of snow drift to squat behind.

Despite how much fun the battle was, however, Shion was beginning to grow tired—and very cold. If his coat had been damp before, the barrage of snow being hurled at him had not helped at all. He was chilled to the bone, shivering all over. His hands felt numb with cold. Still though, he felt warmer than he had in many months.

Nezumi seemed to realize Shon's reluctance to continue. He tossed aside a last snowball and walked over to the shorter boy. They stood there, paces apart, looking one another up and down as cold breath rose between them. "Well, where are we going now?" Nezumi asked, slipping his fingers into Shion's own. His hands were nearly as cold as Shion's—perhaps the same temperature even—but the embrace itself warmed him.

Shion paused, feeling his face blush. "G-going?" he asked, startled.

Nezumi gripped Shion's hand still tighter. "You mentioned your home earlier," he said. The boy was looking far off, lost in thought. His grey eyes caught the light of the moon, intensifying thesomber expression that they held. Though he was smiling, the taller boy's thoughts seemed trapped somewhere dark and guilty. His grip on Shion's hand strengthened.

Shion's face now felt as hot as coals; his heart was fluttering. He looked down, embarrassed, as he returned Nezumi's gesture with a tight squeeze of his own hand. "You really want to come back?" he asked. "You won't leave?"

But before Nezumi could even answer, they were already walking back. Their feet were traveling back towards the bridge, through the bits of rumble that lay there in the snow. Though the footprints that led towards the path were split, arching in opposite directions, they took the same road this time, hand in hand, step by step. It was not until they had crossed the bridge and were beneath the lights of the streetlamps that Nezumi even uttered a single word in response. The answer he gave was short, but warmed Shion to the core.

"No more good-night kisses," he said quietly, still not looking at the white-haired boy.

No more good-night kisses, Shion mulled in his mind. No more leaving one another for foolish reasons. No more time left waiting, wondering when the other would return—if they would. With his fingers wrapped tightly around Nezumi's, woven together as if they were the very fibers of the dark-haired boy's scarf, Shion found himself unable to imagine ever being away from this man again.

Perhaps the only thing that could stab into his quiet dream were realistic reminders of what waited at home. He wasn't sure exactly how he was going to explain this to his mother, that he had gone out for a stroll, and come back with the most important person in his life.


	10. Chapter 10

There was one thing that Shion found himself fully grateful of the entire walk back. Over the bridge, under the streetlamps, past the yards full of snowmen and sagging snowball forts—with the frigid wind blowing a constant stream of flakes into his face, there was absolutely no way to determine the blush on his face from that of the cold, or from inward feelings. Just the very thought made him skip from a rosy tone, to one that rivaled the very colour of his irises. In fact, just the thought of blushing over the matter was enough to make him flush even more. Was there heat coming off of his face? Could Nezumi feel it? He was almost positive that the boy could, because there was no way that such blazing heat could be contained solely to himself. Just to check, a quick peek, he cast his eyes sideways, looking up to find Nezumi's own. He felt relief course throughout him shortly, before those sharp grey eyes darted to meet his own.

"You don't have a fever do you?" Nezumi asked, frowning. Though he sounded concerned, he still held somewhat of a resentful tone in his voice, as if the last thing he needed was for Shion to become sick on him. Something about hearing that tone elated Shion. It truly was as if every memory he had experienced with Nezumi in the past, every bit of time spent idly goofing around in the boy's home, had been revived alike a phoenix from its own charred ashes.

"W-who's the one that threw snow at me?" the white-haired boy chided back. As they passed under the bright light of a streetlamp, he couldn't resist turning away, pretending to stare thoughtlessly at several particularly long icicles hanging from a nearby roof, further hiding his mad blush.

Nezumi seemed to catch onto his ploy, however. "Ah, but who _tried _to throw snowballs straight back at me now?" His eyes were trained on Shion's white locks now, but the boy defiantly refused to look back at him.

It fell quiet between the two once more. Still hand in hand, they followed the stretch of sidewalk in pure silence. Though Shion's mind was very much wrapped up in the embrace, both overjoyed and terribly embarrassed for it, his thoughts were starting to wander homeward more and more. There were just two more turns of the road before they'd be on his street. Several doors down, they'd be standing just outside of the shop. Past the door, they'd be inside his home. Where his mother was… there was no way that he could possibly forget that notch of detail. He couldn't help but wonder how his mother would react to Nezumi suddenly popping into her home, late into the night. The last time the grey-eyed boy paid them a visit, things had not exactly gone in their favor. Well, the entire situation that followed afterwards was eventually beneficial all around, Shion thought—but the boy's presence had set quite a crazy stream of events into order. By that basis, his mother could be very wary of Nezumi, fearful that he may pull Shion into still more tricky business… yet on the other hand, Nezumi was also the reason Shion was still alive today.

Without realizing it, Shion was gripping Nezumi's fingers very tightly.

Onto their street, arched shadows crisscrossed their path where light tore through the surrounding buildings. Many of the streetlamps that lined their sidewalk stood tall and lifeless, allowing the moonlight full control across the landscape. Each gap between every building, every waver in the landscape, sent brilliant golden beams that caressed their cheeks. Though resentful to the teasing boy, Shion could not resist another glance up at the Nezumi. This time Nezumi did not return his gaze. Staring forward, the faintest of smiles upon his lips, the grey-eyed boy gave Shion no more cause for embarrassment. He merely held the white-haired boy's hand, as steady as the snowfall about them. Somewhere Shion knew that Nezumi knew that he was staring at him—yet he couldn't care less. The way the light framed his face was gorgeous. The way the shadows engulfed him when buildings stole the moonlight was gratifying. Though freezing cold, damp with the snow, Shion wished that he could remain caught in the moment for hours after. He was almost disappointed to find themselves before his front door, where he finally was forced to tear his eyes from the gravitating sight.

"This is it?" Nezumi asked. He was taking in the glass door, his face wiped clear of all emotion. Was he nervous?

Shion nodded. "Yeah," he said. "We live just behind it."

Without further pause, Shion unlocked the door. Keeping a firm grip on Nezumi's hand, he replaced the key into his pocket and pulled open the door very slowly. No matter how slowly he inched inside, however, the bells just inside the inner frame jangled noisily, as if he had barged in full steam. Quickly, he tugged Nezumi in behind him. The door was shut tight a second after, leaving them to stand inside the dark entrance of the bakery.

Nezumi remained perfectly silent as Shion peered around carefully, all senses on the alert for his mother. He felt like some sort of criminal, sneaking the boy inside as if he were a stolen good, but he really did not want to run into his mother at this time. And what time was it exactly? A quick look at the clock said after midnight. Of course, the clock was also rather slow, Shion recalled, which meant that it was even later. Wonderful.

When no sounds escaped the quiet house, Shion uttered a sigh of relief. His mother must be sleeping—or at least he hoped that she was. Karan always had this knack about her of knowing exactly where Shion was in the house. On many occasions, she'd burst in at very inopportune moments, perhaps following that sense. All he had to do was slip up to the bathroom and get some towels to dry off. Once they were both dried off, hopefully Shion could find some clothes that fit Nezumi, and he'd be able to sleep comfortable. He'd explain things to Karan in the morning.

They were heading through the hallway, just past the living room. The coast looked clear for the—

"Shion, what are you doing?"

In the subtleness that Karan spoke from behind him, Shion quickly let go of Nezumi's hand and spun around. There, standing at the edge of the hallway, a cup of hot coffee in one hand, stood his mother, eyeing him with tired eyes. She didn't seem _angry_, really. Perhaps extensively irritated, curious, and distrustful, but anger seemed to at least be far from his mother's tone.

"Ah, m-mom. We—I mean I… uh… This is Nezumi." He quickly pointed towards the dark-haired boy, fumbling for a proper explanation.

It was probably the most offhand introduction that he could have said; it was almost as if he were just stating simply that the sky was blue. Nezumi quirked his eyebrow, seemingly unimpressed by the greeting. Even Karan was put off by it. She was looking back and forth between her son and the dark haired boy beside him, perhaps wondering why her boy was so flustered.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Nezumi said, smoothing over the mess. He held out a hand to shake Karan's, a smile slapped clear across his face. Something about that smile seemed a little over the top to Shion.

But where the smile fell short with suspicion from Shion, Karan welcomed it with a grin of her own. She held out her free hand, accepting the boy's shake. "It's nice to finally meet you. I'd like to personally thank you for keeping my son safe," she said. There was true, serious gratitude within her voice. Against all disapproval of a practical stranger appearing insider her house during the late hours of the night, his mother's warm nature was beginning to burst from the depths of her irritation, fueled by thankfulness. Soon, Karan was commenting on the temperature of Nezumi's hands—their damp, chilly state. She quickly instructed Shion to fetch towels for them while she slipped back into the kitchen to heat up some more hot water. There was a distinct click of pots from the kitchen a second later while Shion took Nezumi down the hall.

"Your mother seems nice," Nezumi said. He stood out in the hallway while Shion dug through the closet, trying to find some fresh towels. The task was not as easy as Shion had assumed it would be, however. It was hard to find a single towel under all of the bundled, untruly sheets and dishrags. Ever since Shion had come home carrying little Safu, they just hadn't had the time to sort these small things.

Shion finally found one and threw it in Nezumi's direction, still deeply excavating the closet's contents. "She is nice," he said in reply.

Nezumi made an irritable sound, muffled by what Shion could only guess was his towel.

"Gotcha!" Shion exclaimed as he finally found a second towel. He pulled it out from the depths of the closet, digging his way out like a large albino mole, before stuffing the contents of the closet back in haphazardly.

Towel in hand, Shion led Nezumi back into his room. "What, no dinner first?" the grey-eyed boy asked as he shut the door behind them.

Shion frowned quizzically, addled at the boy's words. Nezumi's expression mimicked Shion's shortly, before he burst into deep bouts of laughter. Shion really didn't get it. He stripped off his sopping wet coat and hurled it at the cackling boy. The gesture quickly stifled Nezumi's glee. His expression mutinous now, the dark-haired boy made a point of casting his own damp clothes into the most disorderly pile that he could manage.

Soon a pile of wet clothes had gathered by Shion's door- after the white-haired boy made a point to go around scooping up Nezumi's, that is. They had both stripped down completely to their shorts. Nezumi sat on the edge of Shion's bed, watching with a curious grin as Shion now raided his dresser for clothes. He had plenty of clothes, but finding some that would fit to Nezumi's height was a bit difficult. It was even more difficult with Nezumi's eyes constantly on him. Shion had the sneaking suspicion that his eyes were tracing all across the scar that marred his body. The thought made him shiver self-consciously. Was this a shirt that was too big for him? He tossed it in Nezumi's direction.

"You still have a terrible taste in clothing," Nezumi said, looking over the striped shirt.

Shion threw a pair of pants at the boy in reply. He was beginning to run out of things to throw at Nezumi tonight.

Aside all complaints, Nezumi slipped on the clothes that Shion offered him. Finally all dry, a towel across his shoulders for his still damp hair to drape over, he sat aside on Shion's bed. He watched the white-haired boy dress with a raised eyebrow, rubbing at his scalp with the corner of his towel. For reasons that Shion himself couldn't quite explain, he was keeping far away from Nezumi. Unable to approach the bed, he was left hopping up and down ungracefully, attempting to pull on a pair of pants.

"There's tea ready out in the living room," Shion's mother suddenly said, opening the door without so much as a knock. Shion gave a startled cry, falling sideways onto the rug, one hand still clutching at his pants leg. "Oh, be careful," his mother said, concerned.

Nezumi laughed. "Thank you, we'll be right there," he said sweetly to Karan.

Once Shion was dressed, the two wandered back out into the living room. Karan sat on the sofa, a tray before her on the table with a couple of hot mugs and several small pastries. When they entered, she scooted aside, giving them room to sit. She passed them each a mug, smiling sweetly all the while.

Shion sat between his mother and Nezumi, eyeing both while he sipped his tea lightly. He still wasn't completely convinced that things were going to go over smoothly. Something in Nezumi's light, carefree tone screamed acting to Shion. With memories of Nezumi singing upon a stage, playing the part of a woman, the white-haired boy didn't find that out of the question.

But what perhaps startled Shion most was the gusto with which Nezumi ate the pastries. Though pacing himself and acting somewhat polite, there was a definite surge of energy in the boy's hands as he reached out for each new one. There was little to no pause between each bite that he took. Three pastries in, he seemed to practically force his hand away from the desserts. It was only with Karan's insistence that he have some more that he took yet another from the plate. Had Nezumi been eating well while he was gone?

Karan seemed to have similar suspicions. "My, if you're really that hungry, I could whip you up something better to eat," she said.

Nezumi was quick to refuse, shaking his head. "No, I'm fine. Thank you." Even if Nezumi was hungry, there was no way that he would have Karan cooking for him in the middle of the night, Shion supposed. Nezumi was already intruding as it was.

Shion had expected a long, drawn out conversation between them, questions fired left and right—but was surprised when Karan made no such assaults. Rather than hounding truths out of the two boys, Karan sat quietly observing them, seeming much more concerned than brash. And tired. While she must be curious, Shion's mother was definitely very tired.

"I need to get some sleep," she finally said, scooping up her mug. "The baby caused a bit of a fuss while you were gone—wore me out." She yawned, rubbing her eyes as she took her cup over to the sink.

Nezumi turned quickly towards Shion, eyes wide in surprise. "Baby?" He nearly demanded an answer.


	11. Chapter 11

As if running on clockwork, Shion tipped his head, confused. "Yeah, the baby. Dog came back with her, and my mother and I have been taking care of her since." Honestly, he didn't understand why Nezumi sounded so tense over the situation. It was just a baby, after all. The white-haired boy could think of no reason for that to cause any sort of concern. And yet, Nezumi was on edge, his knuckles clenching the edge of the couch while he stared at Shion with a hostile expression. He almost seemed jealous. But jealous of what exactly? A baby? Shion just didn't understand.

Nezumi slowly relaxed as Shion explained, sinking back into the sofa. His hand met his forward as he swept back his bangs, chuckling. "Of course, there's no way you'd get a girl," he muttered more to himself than Shion.

"Excuse me?" Shion asked. Shion felt as if he were a fish trying to comprehend a bird's lecture on how to fly. By the look that Nezumi flashed Shion, perhaps he had assumed the bird's position—with an irritable side.

"I'm off to bed now, boys." Karan's voice broke through their conversation as the light in the kitchen was shut off with a flick of the switch. She stood at the edge of the living room, yawning into her hand. The sight of her clearly so tired made Shion feel even more guilty for staying out late. She must have been very worried about him, after all. "You two need to get to sleep soon, as well. There are extra blankets in the closet if you need any."

Without another word, Karan turned into her bedroom, which was located just at the head of the hallway. Shion and Nezumi both called goodnight to her as the door to her room shut tight.

Shion hopped up, collecting the remaining dishes from the table. He deposited them all in the sink, before bouncing down the hallway towards the closet. Tackling the tower of unshapely fabric once more, he managed to tear out two blankets for Nezumi to use. He dragged them back out into the living room, tossing the small pile upon the couch right next to Nezumi. The dark-haired boy had been lounging idly, his eyes closed with his head thrown back on the sofa, but he opened an eye when Shion returned.

"What, you're making me sleep out here on the couch?" Nezumi asked. He raised an eyebrow, giving Shion a highly disdainful look.

"No, I was going to sleep out here myself. There aren't any extra mattresses, and—"

Nezumi didn't appear to want to listen. He grabbed the blankets, a pillow from the sofa, Shion's hand, and dragged him down the hall, back towards Shion's room. Shion quietly protested, afraid to disturb his mother. "No, I'll be fine on the couch—really!" he insisted.

Nezumi nudged open Shion's door with his shoulder and yanked the white-haired boy in after him. Before Shion could make a break back out into the hall, he shut the door tight behind them.

He gave Shion no time to ask questions. Without a word, Nezumi spread out the blankets on the floor, threw down the pillow, and sank into the makeshift spread. He sat up on his elbows, regarding Shion with a cocked eyebrow. "Don't tell me you're still going to complain?" he asked sleepily.

Shion sighed. Yes, he did want to complain. Being that Nezumi was a guest, it was only right that he should have a decent place to sleep—not the floor. He would have offered Nezumi to share his bed like they had those years ago, but it was rather small, and would be awkward, he thought… why was it awkward exactly? Shion was starting to think that the blush would never leave his cheeks. Why was he so flustered lately?

Given that he was already curled up on the floor, his hair untied, spilling across his pillow in little waves, there seemed to be no more room for argument. With a roll of his eyes, and a downward flick of his light switch, Shion crawled into bed, slipping beneath the covers. After his long walk in the cold, his muscles felt sore and achy. The warmth of the soft blankets around him was incredibly comforting. Nuzzling deeper into his pillow, he felt as if he were floating up on a cloud.

Shion thought faintly that this was the happiest he had been in a long time. He loved his mother dearly, and did not at all mind running the shop. He enjoyed taking care of little Safu, and taking Dog on lazy walks through town. No, he didn't hate his life here at all—he quite enjoyed it, actually—but he had been missing a very key piece to his puzzle for a long time now. As happy as he could be, spending his time in No.6 as a regular citizen once more, watching the city change in ways that could only someday be positive, he had always felt as if there was a hole somewhere in his chest where a part of him had fragmented away. Maybe there was no clear assurance that Nezumi would stay—heck, he could leave during the night, if it so suited him—but just knowing that he _had _returned was enough. He was here, after all. Shion could hear his breathing, soft as a little bird's song on the morning air.

And yet, that nagging sense that he was mistreating an important guest constantly clawed at Shion's body. It was enough to tear him from his peaceful, happy thoughts.

Sitting bolt upright, Shion stared down into the shadows that traced across the floor. He could see, framed by the light pouring in through his window, the resting form of Nezumi. He seemed to perhaps be sleeping, completely comfortable and silent, yet a short observation told Shion otherwise. The boy rolled over onto his other side quickly, burrowing into the fabric of his scarf. He paused. A minute later, he was rolling over again. Shion tensed his lips, preparing to chastise Nezumi—when a pair of pale grey eyes burst open suddenly, staring up at him. "What?" Nezumi asked tersely.

"Are you sure you don't want to use the bed?"

A groan escaped Nezumi's lips, and he sat up. "Why can't you just go to sleep?" he argued back at the white-haired boy. "I'm fine down here; just let me sleep." But Nezumi didn't immediately fall back towards his blankets. He remained perched on his elbows, staring up at Shion with an irritable expression.

"… You sure?" Shion pressed.

That seemed to be the final straw.

Nezumi dug his nails into his pillow, took hold of his blanket, and stood up. Shion tried to backtrack, fumbling with words to apologize. He hadn't meant to push Nezumi too much—he didn't want him to go out and sleep on the couch instead. He'd be doing it just to get away from Shion at this point, if he did. The very thought twisted at Shion's insides. "W-wait!" Shion insisted, reaching forward frantically.

"Move over."

"What?"

"You heard me. Move over." Though Nezumi didn't wait for Shion to actually move. Instead, he shoved the white-haired boy aside gently, forcing his way onto as much of the mattress as he could manage.

Shion flailed his arms, unsure of what to do. "Hey, HEY— there's no room!" he insisted.

The taller boy settled down next to him, fighting a section of blanket away from Shion. "Nonsense," he said. "It is a pretty pathetic excuse bed, but there' still room for two. Just don't try to hoard the entire blanket for yourself." He sank down into the pillows, closing his eyes.

Shion fell down on his pillow with a whump, glaring at Nezumi without pause. "This is still awkward," he insisted. Suddenly very aware of how close he was to the boy, Shion inched his body ever so slightly towards his own edge of the bed.

Nezumi cracked a single eye open, looking over Shion with a disdainful expression. "And it wasn't awkward when we were kids?" he asked.

"Well, I—it—" Shion fought to find the right words to describe it all, but was ultimately left flapping his gums, unable to come up with a proper explanation. Instead, he grabbed one of the pillows, hiked up the corner of his blanket, and burrowed his face deep into a little makeshift nest.

It actually wasn't near as cramped with them both in his bed as Shion had imagined. Well, physically that was. For although there was enough space for them both to lie without touching one another—and not fall over the edge, at that—Shion felt completely confined. The very idea of Nezumi lying next to him had his heart racing. He couldn't rest. He couldn't think straight. Shion slowly lifted his face from the blankets, watching Nezumi's resting form. He felt rather creepy for eyeing the boy, but couldn't help himself. All embarrassment aside, he was extremely relieved and happy to have Nezumi by his side. So very happy to just know that he was there, and that he didn't seem to have any intentions of leaving any time soon.

Nezumi's eyes both opened, catching the light. Although Shion felt very out of place, and was almost certain there were butterflies rising up in his stomach—he didn't flinch under the gaze. In fact, he felt calm. There was no reason for him to feel out of sorts or terrified; there was no harm in meeting Nezumi's eyes. He just felt incredibly happy.

And perhaps Nezumi felt the same. For not a minute after meeting Shion's gaze, without so much as a whisper, his fingers skimmed beneath the covers and sought out the white-haired boy's hand. Just like that night long ago, they once more found their fingers intertwined. Shion shut his eyes, smiling as he gripped the boy's hand tighter. Nezumi returned the gesture, giving a light chuckle as his hands clasped tightly around Shion's.

…

Sleep claimed Shion quickly. Not sparing a second glance, the boy merely shut his eyes tight, breathing softly as he held Nezumi's hand. Nezumi could feel Shion's heartbeat in his hand. He could sense its fast beats slowing while the boy fell softly into rest. Even when Shion's fingers slackened, loosening as his conscious slipped away, the dark-haired boy did not dare let go. His eyes flickered in the light; they were sharp grey embers that watched over Shion protectively.

There were so many things fighting for priority in Nezumi's mind at the moment. There was a sense of flight that gnawed at him, begging him to get up and leave before morning came. None of this way planned, after all. He had not gone to the park expecting to return home with Shion. The reason for his trip to the park was much less… brave, after all.

Nezumi though with a sigh about his travels over the last few months. How far could he say he had gone? Not too far. It couldn't be. He had tried, certainly, but each time he drifted too far from the crumbled walls of No. 6, he felt a clawing sense in his belly that demanded he turn around. Listening to that sense had been particularly difficult, however. There was certainly a fear in Nezumi towards Shion that had kept him at bay, as strange as that sounded. There was a power that boy held, to quell him into a much gentler state than he'd have ever dared without him. He feared it. He feared… caring for him, as cruel as that sounded, even in his own head.

Nezumi had lived his life according to his own laws for many years now. Where he wanted to go, what he wanted to do, what he had to do—it was all reliant on what he needed or desired.

Shion, though… He was an unexpected star lighting up a hollow, empty space. Not completely undesirable—just unexpected. Misunderstood. And without that lack of understanding, there came his fear.

Shion shifted in his sleep, gripping Nezumi's fingers blindly. Nezumi returned the gentle squeeze, and blushed faintly at the result that it evoked.

"Nez…umi," Shion muttered. His head nuzzled his pillow, inching ever so closer to Nezumi's.

Yep, Shion was definitely dangerous. For as many enemies that Nezumi had fought, not a one could make his heart race as furiously as the sleeping boy before him.

…

Shion stirred, feeling as if there was a strange pressure on his side. He opened his eyes slowly, blinking away tiredness. He started.

He was staring at Nezumi's throat. Sometime during the night, he had whittled his way into the boy's arms, resting just under Nezumi's chin. One of Nezumi's arms lay across his side, wrapping him in warmth, while the other served as an additional pillow under the boy's dark locks. Their legs were a jumbled up entanglement.

Shion thought to inch away from Nezumi. It may be a bit awkward to slip away, but if he woke Nezumi, he could always just make up some excuse, perhaps about leaving to the restroom. Oh, but why would excuses even be necessary? And why was he blushing again?  
>No, on second thought, he didn't want to do anything. It was still late, he was still rather tired, and… to be quite truthful… there was something about being in Nezumi's arms that he found very pleasing. He was sure that the morning may be awkward—some explanations would certainly be in order, aside a bit of joking—but now there was no need to ruin something… pleasurable?<p>

As he hunkered back down into Nezumi's embrace, nestling his brow into the boy's collar, the faintest of smiles curled across Nezumi's lips.

…

Hello all, I would just like to thank you for reading, and the wonderful positive feedback that I have gotten from my first ever fanfiction. It's a bit strange writing about characters that I don't personally own for once, but I've also found it very enjoyable.

I am not going to call this fanfiction, "As Time Goes On," _officially _complete, for there's a chance that I may return and add more to it, but I think that it will be set aside for now. I find that this is a good stopping point, whether it be just for now, or for the dead end.

Set aside for what, however? More interesting exploits, I hope.

Yes, while I will not be touching this project for quite some time—if ever again—this is NOT my last fanfiction. Definitely not my last with these two.

If you have enjoyed my writing, I can assure you that this is not the last you will see of me. I hope to explore this pairing quite some more—and perhaps some others, should I get the interest.

You should even expect some more… _fun_ passages from me concerning this pairing, if you catch my drift. I'm sure many of you may be excited if a little "M" appears under a rating somewhere, hrm?

Thank you again for the time that you have spent reading up to this part. I will try to write some other stories about these two very, very soon.

-Quiris.


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